MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.,
May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexza
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALXA), or the Company, today
announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with
three institutional investors, including RA Capital Management and
Tavistock Life Sciences, to raise approximately $16.1 million in gross proceeds in a registered
direct offering through the sale of common stock and warrants.
The Company agreed to sell a total of 11,927,034 units, each
unit consisting of (i) one share of common stock and (ii) one
warrant to purchase 0.35 of a share of common stock, at a purchase
price of $1.35 per unit. The
warrants will be exercisable six months after issuance at
$1.755 per share and will expire five
years from the date of issuance. The shares of common stock
and warrants are immediately separable and will be issued
separately.
Alexza estimates that net proceeds from the offering will be
approximately $15.8 million, after
deducting estimated offering expenses. The Company intends to
use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities primarily for
general corporate purposes, including regulatory activity, clinical
trial, research and development, general and administrative and
manufacturing expenses.
The securities described above are being offered pursuant to a
registration statement on Form S3 previously declared effective by
the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, 2010. The transaction is expected to
close on or about May 6, 2011,
subject to customary closing conditions.
A copy of the prospectus supplement relating to the offering and
the accompanying base prospectus may be obtained by contacting
Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Attention: Corporate Secretary,
2091 Stierlin Court, Mountain View,
California 94043, or by calling (650) 944-7000. A copy
of the prospectus supplement relating to the offering and the
accompanying base prospectus may also be accessed on the SEC
website, http://www.sec.gov.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Alexza nor shall
there be any sale of such securities in any state in which such
offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration
or qualification under the securities laws of such state.
About Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Alexza Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company focused on
the research, development and commercialization of novel,
proprietary products for the acute treatment of central nervous
system conditions. Alexza's technology, the Staccato® system,
vaporizes unformulated drug to form a condensation aerosol that,
when inhaled, allows for rapid systemic drug delivery through deep
lung inhalation. The drug is quickly absorbed through the
lungs into the bloodstream, providing speed of therapeutic onset
that is comparable to intravenous administration, but with greater
ease, patient comfort and convenience. (Click here to see an
animation of how the Staccato system works.)
AZ-004 (Staccato loxapine) is Alexza's lead program,
which is being developed for the rapid treatment of agitation in
schizophrenic or bipolar disorder patients. Alexza has
completed and announced positive results from both of its AZ-004
Phase 3 clinical trials, and submitted a New Drug Application, or
NDA, for AZ-004 in December 2009.
In October 2010, the Company
received a Complete Response Letter, or CRL, from the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration, or FDA, regarding its NDA for AZ-004. A
CRL is issued by the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
indicating that the NDA review cycle is complete and that the
application is not ready for approval in its present form.
The Company completed an end-of-review meeting with the FDA
in late December 2010. In
January 2011, Alexza received the
official FDA minutes of the meeting, and the Company anticipates
resubmitting the AZ-004 NDA in July
2011. Alexza is seeking commercial partners for the
worldwide development and commercialization of AZ-004.
For more information about Alexza, the Staccato
technology or Alexza's development programs, please visit
www.alexza.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements that
involve significant risks and uncertainties. Any statement
describing the Company's intent, expectations or beliefs is a
forward-looking statement, as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and should be considered an at-risk
statement. Such statements are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties, particularly those inherent in the process of
developing and commercializing drugs, and the risk that the
financing may be delayed or may not occur due to market or other
conditions and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions
related to the proposed public offering. The Company's
forward-looking statements also involve assumptions that, if they
prove incorrect, would cause its results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
These and other risks concerning Alexza's business and this
offering are described in additional detail in the Company's Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company's other Periodic
and Current Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and the prospectus supplement related to this offering.
Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made
as of this date, and the Company undertakes no obligation to
publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result
of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc.