Gritstone Oncology Announces $110 Million Private Placement
December 23 2020 - 8:33AM
Gritstone Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRTS), a clinical-stage
biotechnology company developing the next generation of cancer
immunotherapies to fight multiple cancer types, today announced
that it has executed a securities purchase agreement to raise gross
proceeds of $110 million resulting from the sale of shares of its
common stock and/or pre-funded warrants through a private
investment in public equity (PIPE) financing at a price per share
of $3.34. The financing was led by certain existing and new
investors, Redmile Group, Avidity Partners and EcoR1 Capital.
The PIPE financing is subject to customary
closing conditions and is expected to close on December 28, 2020.
The PIPE financing was done in compliance with applicable Nasdaq
rules and priced at the “Minimum Price” (as defined in the Nasdaq
rules). Cowen served as the sole placement agent for the financing.
The company expects to use net proceeds from this private placement
to fund research and development expenses, including the clinical
development of its lead cancer immunotherapies, GRANITE and SLATE,
and advancement of opportunities from its core technologies
including Gritstone EDGE™ and vaccine platforms, as well as
for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
“We believe these additional resources position
us well to accelerate the advancement of our two lead cancer
immunotherapies, GRANITE and SLATE,” said Andrew Allen, M.D.,
Ph.D., co-founder, president and chief executive officer of
Gritstone Oncology. “Additionally, we are exploring the broader
potential of our first-in-class technology platforms –
EDGE™ as a leading T cell antigen identification technology
complementing our highly immunogenic vaccine platforms, now well
established in human clinical studies.”
The securities sold in this private placement
have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and may not be offered or sold in the U.S. except pursuant
to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption
from the registration requirements. Gritstone has agreed to file a
registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission
registering the resale of the shares of common stock issued in this
private placement.
This press release shall not constitute an offer
to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor
shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other
jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be
unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the
securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.
About Gritstone
OncologyGritstone Oncology (Nasdaq: GRTS), a
clinical-stage biotechnology company, is developing the next
generation of cancer immunotherapies to fight multiple cancer
types. Gritstone develops its products by leveraging two key
pillars—second, a proprietary machine learning-based platform,
Gritstone EDGE™, which is designed to predict, from a routine tumor
biopsy, the tumor-specific neoantigens (TSNA) that are presented on
a patient’s tumor cells; and second, the ability to develop and
manufacture potent immunotherapies utilizing patients’ TSNA to
potentially drive the patient’s immune system to specifically
attack and destroy tumors. The company’s individualized
neoantigen-based immunotherapy, GRANITE, and its “off the shelf”
shared neoantigen-based immunotherapy, SLATE, are being evaluated
in clinical studies. Novel tumor-specific antigens can also provide
targets for bispecific antibody (BiSAb) therapeutics for solid
tumors, and Gritstone’s BiSAb program is currently in lead
optimization. For more information, please visit
gritstoneoncology.com.
Gritstone Forward-Looking
StatementsThis press release contains
forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to,
statements related to the potential of Gritstone’s therapeutic
programs; and the timing and expectation of the closing of the PIPE
financing. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial
risks and uncertainties that could cause Gritstone’s research and
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 drug development process, including Gritstone’s programs’ early
stage of development, the process of designing and conducting
preclinical and clinical trials, the regulatory approval processes,
the timing of regulatory filings, the challenges associated with
manufacturing drug products, Gritstone’s ability to successfully
establish, protect and defend its intellectual property and other
matters that could affect the sufficiency of existing cash to fund
operations. Gritstone undertakes no obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statements. 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 the business of the company in general, see
Gritstone’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on
November 5, 2020 and any current and periodic reports filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ContactsMedia: Dan Budwick 1AB (973)
271-6085 dan@1abmedia.com
Investors:Alexandra Santos Wheelhouse Life Science Advisors(510)
871-6161asantos@wheelhouselsa.com
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