CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Merrimack
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MACK), a clinical-stage
oncology company focused on biomarker-defined cancers, today
announced the closing of a $25
million term loan with Hercules Capital (NYSE: HTGC),
$15 million of which was funded at
closing today. Merrimack's current cash and cash equivalents,
including the $15 million of loan
proceeds received, and certain potential net milestone payments
anticipated from Shire are projected to fund the company's planned
operations into the first quarter of 2020.
"This non-dilutive financing strengthens Merrimack's financial
position, allowing us to remain focused on advancing the discovery,
clinical and business development efforts for our nine wholly-owned
programs in development, including our two clinical readouts
expected later this year from MM-121 and MM-310," said Richard Peters, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief
Executive Officer of Merrimack. "We appreciate the support of
Hercules, a well-respected investor known for partnering with
attractive companies and promising product candidates in the
healthcare sector."
Under the terms of this loan, in addition to the $15 million received at loan closing, Merrimack
is eligible to receive up to an aggregate of $10 million in two equal tranches upon
satisfaction of certain conditions, including, for the first
tranche, the availability of top-line clinical data supporting the
continued development of MM-121, the company's monoclonal antibody
targeting the HER3 (ErbB3) receptor.
"Given Merrimack's anticipated clinical readouts and potential
milestone payments from Shire, Hercules is pleased to enter into
this financing partnership with Merrimack as they continue their
work to develop novel precision therapies for patients with
biomarker-defined cancers," said Scott
Bluestein, Chief Investment Officer of Hercules. "This debt
facility demonstrates our ability to finance life sciences
companies through multiple stages of development and upcoming value
inflection points."
As a reminder, Merrimack is entitled to receive up to an
aggregate of $33.0 million in net
milestone payments from Shire as a result of Merrimack's asset sale
to Ipsen in 2017, if certain milestones are met. A portion of these
payments is included in the company's cash runway guidance.
In addition, pursuant to the asset sale to Ipsen, Merrimack is
eligible to receive an aggregate of $450
million in milestone payments from Ipsen, which Merrimack
has previously said it expects to pass through to stockholders, net
of any taxes owed and subject to there being sufficient surplus at
that time.
About Merrimack
Merrimack is a biopharmaceutical company based
in Cambridge, Massachusetts that is outthinking cancer to
ensure that patients and their families live fulfilling lives. Its
mission is to transform cancer care through the smart design and
development of targeted solutions based on a deep understanding of
cancer pathways and biological markers. All of Merrimack's
development programs, including three clinical studies and six
candidates in preclinical development, fit into its strategy of 1)
understanding the biological problems it is trying to solve, 2)
designing specific solutions and 3) developing those solutions for
biomarker-selected patients. This three-pronged strategy seeks to
optimize patient outcomes. For more information, please visit
Merrimack's website at www.merrimack.com.
Forward Looking Statements
To the extent that statements contained in this press release
are not descriptions of historical facts, they are forward-looking
statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of
management made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended.
Forward-looking statements include any statements about Merrimack's
strategy, future operations, future financial position, future
revenues and future expectations and plans and prospects for
Merrimack, and any other statements containing the words
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may,"
"plan," "predict," "project," "target," "potential," "will,"
"would," "could," "should," "continue" and similar expressions. In
this press release, Merrimack's forward-looking statements include,
among others, statements about the timing of availability of
clinical trial data, the anticipated achievement of milestones and
the availability of funding sufficient to fund Merrimack's
operations. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial
risks and uncertainties that could cause Merrimack's clinical
development programs, future results, performance or achievements
to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include,
among others, the uncertainties inherent in the availability of
data from ongoing clinical trials, expectations for regulatory
approvals, development progress of Merrimack's companion
diagnostics, availability of funding sufficient for Merrimack's
foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital
expenditure requirements, and other matters that could affect the
availability or commercial potential of Merrimack's product
candidates or companion diagnostics. Merrimack undertakes no
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as
representing Merrimack's views as of any date subsequent to the
date hereof. For a further description of the risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those
expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks
relating to Merrimack's business in general, see the "Risk Factors"
section of Merrimack's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the
SEC on May 8, 2018 and the other
reports Merrimack files with the SEC.
Contact:
Geoffrey
Grande, CFA
617-441-7602
ggrande@merrimack.com
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SOURCE Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.