Additional Capital Provides Over Two Years
of Cash Runway Based on Current Business Plan
Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American and TASE: LCTX),
a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel cell
therapies for unmet medical needs, today announced it received
$24.6 million in cash from Juvenescence Ltd., representing
principal and interest due under a convertible promissory note. The
note was issued in August 2018 as partial payment for the sale by
Lineage to Juvenescence of 14.4 million shares of common stock of
AgeX Therapeutics, Inc.
“Lineage has been tremendously successful at monetizing its
extensive patent and technology portfolio, most notably through the
creation and sale of businesses like AgeX and OncoCyte, and the
license or sale of non-core assets. It is worth highlighting that
we have not conducted a traditional equity financing in nearly
three years, and with an additional $24 million just received from
Juvenescence, we believe we have over two years of cash runway
based on our current business plan. This cash runway extends well
past the expected timing of several major clinical milestones. We
are best known for our promising cell therapy programs that are
advancing through clinical trials, but I believe our broad
technology platform, our financial strategy, and our responsible
spending approach are equally notable and likely under-appreciated,
particularly in a capital-intensive industry,” stated Brian M.
Culley, Lineage CEO. “Our core technology continues to be highly
productive, not least of all by providing the foundation for three
unique cell therapy programs, each with emerging safety and
efficacy data and significant commercial opportunities.
Furthermore, the VAC program we recently reacquired from Cancer
Research UK includes a platform capable of generating numerous new
programs, which may unlock exciting opportunities for us or for
partnerships with other companies. Our mission is to convert the
power of our directed cell differentiation platform into novel
products and provide our shareholders with long-term growth and
sustainability.”
Importantly, Lineage has the following plans and objectives for
the remainder of 2020:
- Meet with
BARDA as part of the BARDA CoronaWatch Meeting Program,
to discuss the use of dendritic cells for vaccine development
(revised to September).
- Report initial
VAC2 clinical data from patients treated in the ongoing
Phase 1 trial in NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer) run by Cancer
Research UK.
- Present new and
accumulated OpRegen data from the ongoing Phase 1/2a
clinical trial at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)
Annual 2020 Meeting the second week of November.
- Complete patient
enrollment in the U.S. with the Gyroscope Orbit SDS and
new thaw-and-inject formulation in the ongoing Phase 1/2a clinical
trial of OpRegen for the treatment of dry AMD.
- Update U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) on our recent progress and
discuss further development of the OPC1 program.
About Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc.
Lineage Cell Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology
company developing novel cell therapies for unmet medical needs.
Lineage’s programs are based on its robust proprietary cell-based
therapy platform and associated in-house development and
manufacturing capabilities. With this platform Lineage develops and
manufactures specialized, terminally differentiated human cells
from its pluripotent and progenitor cell starting materials. These
differentiated cells are developed to either replace or support
cells that are dysfunctional or absent due to degenerative disease
or traumatic injury or administered as a means of helping the body
mount an effective immune response to cancer. Lineage’s clinical
programs are in markets with billion dollar opportunities and
include three allogeneic (“off-the-shelf”) product candidates: (i)
OpRegen®, a retinal pigment epithelium transplant therapy in Phase
1/2a development for the treatment of dry age-related macular
degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the developed world;
(ii) OPC1, an oligodendrocyte progenitor cell therapy in Phase 1/2a
development for the treatment of acute spinal cord injuries; and
(iii) VAC, an allogeneic dendritic cell therapy platform for
immuno-oncology and infectious disease, currently in clinical
development for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and in
preclinical development for additional cancers and as a vaccine
against infectious diseases, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus which
causes COVID-19. For more information, please visit
www.lineagecell.com or follow the Company on Twitter
@LineageCell.
About Juvenescence Ltd.
Juvenescence is a bio-pharma development company developing
therapies focused on allowing people worldwide to live longer,
healthier lives. It was founded by Jim Mellon, Dr. Greg Bailey and
Dr. Declan Doogan. Juvenescence has raised $111 million to build an
ecosystem and pipeline of assets targeting aging, age-related
disease, and regeneration. Juvenescence believes that recent
scientific and medical advances will enable the development of
therapeutics that meaningfully extend human health span and
eventually lifespan. A meaningful increase in lifespan in the
already aging world will have profound implications on all sectors
of society, and in particular healthcare, education, insurance, and
leisure. The company creates and partners with new companies with
longevity-related therapeutics, by in-licensing compounds from
academia and industry, or forming joint ventures with the foremost
longevity scientists and leading research institutions. Their work
is based on a novel scientific understanding of the underlying
biological causes of aging, to create evidence-based therapeutics
that can treat diseases of aging. Juvenescence's goal is to extend
both lifespan and health span, by developing therapeutics that slow
aging and promote juvenescence.
Forward-Looking Statements
Lineage cautions you that all statements, other than statements
of historical facts, contained in this press release, are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, in some
cases, can be identified by terms such as “believe,” “may,” “will,”
“estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “design,” “intend,” “expect,”
“could,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “seek,” “should,” “would,”
“contemplate,” project,” “target,” “tend to,” or the negative
version of these words and similar expressions. Such statements
include, but are not limited to, statements relating to Lineage’s
expected cash runway, enrollment activities, data presentations,
clinical trial advancement, planned meetings with the FDA and
partnership evaluations. Forward-looking statements involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
Lineage’s actual results, performance or achievements to be
materially different from future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements
in this press release, including risks and uncertainties inherent
in Lineage’s business and other risks in Lineage’s filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). Lineage’s
forward-looking statements are based upon its current expectations
and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to
be incorrect. All forward-looking statements are expressly
qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Further
information regarding these and other risks is included under the
heading “Risk Factors” in Lineage’s periodic reports with the SEC,
including Lineage’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC
on March 12, 2020 and its other reports, which are available from
the SEC’s website. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on
which they were made. Lineage undertakes no obligation to update
such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that
exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by
law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200831005164/en/
Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc. IR Ioana C. Hone
(ir@lineagecell.com) (442) 287-8963
Solebury Trout IR Gitanjali Jain Ogawa
(Gogawa@troutgroup.com) (646) 378-2949
Russo Partners – Media Relations Nic Johnson or David
Schull Nic.johnson@russopartnersllc.com
David.schull@russopartnersllc.com (212) 845-4242
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