Lineage Cell Therapeutics Raises $35.9 Million From Sales of Marketable Securities Holdings and an At-the-Market Equity Offer...
March 08 2021 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Improved Cash Position Expected to Fund
Operations for More Than Two Years
Lineage Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (NYSE American and TASE: LCTX),
a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing allogeneic cell
therapies for unmet medical needs, today reported that it raised
$11 million in new capital from sales of its holdings of marketable
securities, including shares of OncoCyte Corporation (Nasdaq: OCX)
and Hadasit Bio-Holdings (TASE: HDST), as well as $25 million in
gross proceeds from its at-the-market (“ATM”) offering. Lineage
expects its approximately $57 million of cash and cash equivalents
as of March 5, 2021 to fund operations well into 2023, by which
time the Company expects to have achieved value-creating clinical
and product development milestones. Lineage’s strengthened balance
sheet also provides it with strategic flexibility in its ongoing
partnership discussions.
“During the past six months, appreciation in our share price and
that of marketable securities we owned has provided us with
opportunities to monetize our investments and raise additional
capital through our ATM offering,” stated Brian Culley, Lineage’s
CEO. “These sales underscore that Lineage has created substantial
value for its shareholders over time not only by advancing our
product candidates toward later-stage clinical trials, but also by
making and now harvesting significant early investments in OncoCyte
and Hadasit and from aggressive and prudent expense reductions we
previously reported. We expect that Lineage is now funded well into
2023, by which time we expect to have reached additional
significant milestones, explored new areas to deploy our
technology, and moved Lineage ever closer to our goal of becoming
the preeminent allogeneic cell transplant company. Our stronger
balance sheet also can provide us with optionality with respect to
our ongoing partnership discussions.”
Cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020 were $32.6
million and reflected $5.1 million in gross proceeds from sales on
the ATM (which excluded $0.3 million in cash in transit related to
2020 sales that settled in 2021) and $0.8 million in gross proceeds
from sales of Hadasit shares during the fourth quarter. From
January 1, 2021 through March 5, 2021, Lineage raised an additional
$19.9 million in gross proceeds through the ATM offering (which
included $0.3 million in cash in transit related to 2020 sales that
settled in 2021), as well as $10.1 million in gross proceeds from
sales of OncoCyte shares and $21,000 in gross proceeds from sales
of Hadasit shares. Lineage incubated OncoCyte and funded its
initial product development before spinning it out as a separate
public company in January 2016. As of March 5, 2021, OncoCyte’s
market capitalization was over $300 million and Lineage has
realized $32.5 million in total sales of its OncoCyte shares over
time. The Company continues to hold 1,122,401 shares of OncoCyte
stock valued at approximately $4.2 million and 169,167 shares of
Hadasit stock valued at approximately $330,000, in each case based
on the closing prices of those shares on March 5, 2021. Previously,
Lineage also incubated and funded the initial product development
of AgeX Therapeutics (NYSE American: AGE), and subsequently spun it
out as a separate public company in November 2018, ultimately
raising nearly $50 million from sales of its securities. Lineage
believes that its broad technology platform and intellectual
property portfolio may allow it to create additional value for
shareholders through the advancement of its own novel pipeline as
well as through the incubation and development of other products
and companies, and through strategic corporate partnerships.
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 technology platform and associated in-house development and
manufacturing capabilities, as well as its broad intellectual
property portfolio. With its technology 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 to be 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 market
opportunities and include three allogeneic (“off-the-shelf”)
product candidates: (i) OpRegen®, a retinal pigment epithelium
transplant therapy in a fully enrolled 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 a fully enrolled 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.
Lineage’s broad technology platform and intellectual property
portfolio also have allowed it to create value through the
incubation, spinoff, and sale of companies addressing other large
market opportunities. For more information, please visit
www.lineagecell.com or follow the Company on Twitter
@LineageCell.
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 burn, timing for expected achievement of milestones,
and partnership discussions. 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/20210308005247/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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