SYDNEY, Oct. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kazia Therapeutics
Limited (ASX: KZA; NASDAQ: KZIA), an Australian oncology-focused
biotechnology company, is pleased to announce the completion of a
placement of KZA shares, primarily to sector-specialist
institutional investors in Australia and internationally, at a price of
A$0.38 per share. The placement will
raise approximately A$3.4 million
(exclusive of costs).
In addition, Kazia will launch a Share Purchase Plan (SPP) to
allow eligible existing holders of KZA securities the opportunity
to acquire new fully-paid ordinary shares on the same terms as the
placement. The SPP will open on Tuesday 23
October 2018, and documentation will be separately mailed to
eligible shareholders at that time.
Key Points
- High-quality specialist institutional investors lead this
investment and strengthen the Company's registry, motivated by
corporate transformation, quality of management, and significant
potential of pipeline
- Capital raised secures Company's ability to progress GDC-0084
and Cantrixil programs through four critical value-driving
inflection points during calendar 2019
- Placement of $3.4 million, at a
small discount to market price of 11.6% and with no warrants,
strengthens balance sheet while safeguarding interests of existing
shareholders
- SPP provides opportunity for existing shareholders to augment
their holding at the same price as the institutional placement, and
directors intend to participate
Kazia Chairman, Iain Ross,
commented, "The ability of the Company to now command the interest
of professional institutional investors is a powerful endorsement
both of the quality of our pipeline and of the work that has been
done over the past several years to move it forward. The next
twelve months or so is a tremendously important period for Kazia,
and today's placement positions us to advance GDC-0084 and
Cantrixil through their phase IIa and phase I studies respectively,
providing four important data read-outs across the two
programs."
He added, "The Board has been determined to respect the support
and commitment of existing shareholders and, to that end, today's
modest placement has been conducted at a small discount and without
the issuance of warrants. In addition, we have signaled our intent
to provide via a Share Purchase Plan the ability for existing
shareholders to enjoy the same opportunity as institutional
shareholders. Each of the directors have indicated their intention
to participate in the SPP."
Over the previous twelve months, Kazia has secured orphan
designation from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for
its lead program, GDC-0084, which was followed by successful
commencement of a phase IIa clinical trial in the United States. The phase IIa trial aims to
provide safety and efficacy data supporting future use of the drug
in glioblastoma, the most common and most aggressive form of
primary brain cancer, which is estimated to represent a commercial
market opportunity in excess of US$ 1
billion. The mechanism of the drug is well-validated, given
two approved products already in the class, but GDC-0084 is
uniquely differentiated by its ability to cross the blood-brain
barrier. In September 2018, the
Company announced a clinical collaboration with St Jude Children's
Research Hospital in the United
States to explore GDC-0084 in the treatment of an aggressive
form of childhood brain cancer.
Institutional Placement
Under the terms of the placement, approximately 8.9 million new
ASX-listed fully-paid ordinary shares have been allocated to
institutional, professional, and sophisticated investors at a price
of A$0.38 per share, representing an
11.6% discount to the last closing price on Friday 12 October 2018 (A$0.43). Settlement and issuance of shares is
expected to occur in several tranches during the week beginning
Tuesday 23 October 2018, and will be
fully disclosed to the ASX at that time. The placement has been led
by WG Partners, LLP.
The proceeds from the placement and SPP will be used to fund the
Company's R&D activities and provide working capital into 2020,
yielding four critical value-driving data read-outs across the
GDC-0084 and Cantrixil programs.
No shareholder approval is required for the placement. The
placement shares will be allocated using the Company's available
placement capacity under its 15% limit in accordance with ASX
Listing Rule 7.1 and its additional 10% limit in accordance with
ASX Listing Rule 7.1A. The placement shares will rank equally with
the Company's existing shares on issue. The placement will not be
underwritten.
Share Purchase Plan (SPP)
Following settlement of the placement, the Company intends to
offer an SPP to existing eligible shareholders.
Under the SPP, eligible shareholders of ASX securities, listed
on the Kazia register at 7:00 pm
(Sydney time) on the record date
of Wednesday 17 October 2018, will be
offered the opportunity to apply for up to A$15,000 of fully paid ordinary shares in Kazia
without incurring brokerage or other transaction costs. This will
be subject to certain eligibility criteria and other terms and
conditions of the SPP which will be set out in the SPP booklet and
dispatched to eligible shareholders. The indicative timetable is as
follows:-
Record Date for
Eligible Shareholders
|
Wednesday 17 October
2018
|
SPP Opens
|
Tuesday 23 October
2018
|
SPP Closes
|
Friday 16 November
2018
|
SPP Shares
Issued
|
Friday 23
November 2018
|
SPP Shares Commence
Trading on ASX
|
Tuesday 27 November
2018
|
The issue price of shares under the SPP will be equal to the
Placement price of A$0.38. Shares
issued under the SPP will rank equally with the Company's existing
shares on issue. The SPP will not be underwritten. The Directors
have not set a cap or a target for the amount to be raised under
the SPP, however under Listing Rule 7.2 Exemption 15, the maximum
number of shares issued under the SPP will be 30% of the Company's
issued share capital, which at the issue price of $0.38 amounts to $6,533,297.
Not for release to
US newswire services or distribution in the United
States
|
[ENDS]
About Kazia Therapeutics Limited
Kazia Therapeutics Limited (ASX: KZA, NASDAQ: KZIA) is an
innovative oncology-focused biotechnology company, based in
Sydney, Australia. Our pipeline
includes two clinical-stage drug development candidates, and we are
working to develop therapies across a range of oncology
indications.
Our lead program is GDC-0084, a small molecule inhibitor of the
PI3K / AKT / mTOR pathway, which is being developed to treat
glioblastoma multiforme, the most common and most aggressive form
of primary brain cancer in adults. Licensed from Genentech in late
2016, GDC-0084 entered a phase II clinical trial in March 2018. Initial data is expected in early
calendar 2019. GDC-0084 was granted orphan designation for
glioblastoma by the US FDA in February
2018.
TRX-E-002-1 (Cantrixil), is a third-generation benzopyran
molecule with activity against cancer stem cells and is being
developed to treat ovarian cancer. TRX-E-002-1 is currently
undergoing a phase I clinical trial in Australia and the
United States. Initial data was presented in June 2018 and the study remains ongoing.
Cantrixil was granted orphan designation for ovarian cancer by the
US FDA in April 2015.
Summary Information
The following disclaimer applies to this announcement and any
information contained in it (the Information). The
Information in this announcement is of general background and does
not purport to be complete. It should be read in conjunction with
Kazia's other periodic and continuous disclosure announcements
lodged with ASX Limited, which are available at www.asx.com.au. You
are advised to read this disclaimer carefully before reading or
making any other use of this announcement or any Information
contained in this announcement. In accepting this announcement, you
agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions including
any modifications to them.
Forward Looking Statements
This announcement may include forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are based on Kazia's expectations and
beliefs concerning future events. Forward looking statements are
necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many
of which are outside the control of Kazia, which could cause actual
results to differ materially from such statements. Kazia makes no
undertaking to subsequently update or revise the forward-looking
statements made in this announcement, to reflect the circumstances
or events after the date of this announcement.
Not for Release in the United
States
This announcement has been prepared for publication in
Australia and may not be released
to US wire services or distributed in the
United States. This announcement does not constitute an
offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in
the United States or any other
jurisdiction in which such an offer would be illegal. The
securities referred to in this announcement have not been, nor will
be, registered under the US Securities Act of 1933 (Securities
Act), or under the securities laws of any state or other
jurisdiction of the United States.
Accordingly, such securities may not be offered or sold, directly
or indirectly, in the United
States or to any US person (as defined in Rule 902 under the
Securities Act) or to any person acting for the account or benefit
of a US person, except in transactions (i) registered under the US
Securities Act (which the Company has no obligation to do) or (ii)
exempt from, or not subject to, the registration requirements of
the Securities Act and any other applicable securities laws of any
state or other jurisdiction of the United
States.
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