TORONTO, June 15, 2021 /CNW/ - SQI Diagnostics
Inc. ("SQI" or the "Company") (TSXV: SQD) (OTCQB: SQIDF), a
life sciences and diagnostics company that develops and
commercializes proprietary technologies and products for advanced
microarray diagnostics today announces that certain insiders of the
Company, who are control persons (the "Control Persons"),
have exercised 19,687,504 common share (each, a
"Share") purchase warrants of the Company (the
"Insider Warrants") for aggregate gross proceeds of
approximately $3.9 million. Of the Insider Warrants
exercised, 19,687,504 Insider Warrants were exercised at a price of
$0.20 per Share (collectively, the
"Funding").
![SQI Diagnostics Inc. Logo (CNW Group/SQI Diagnostics Inc.) SQI Diagnostics Inc. Logo (CNW Group/SQI Diagnostics Inc.)](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1533995/SQI_Diagnostics_Inc__SQI_Diagnostics_Inc__Announces__3_9_Million.jpg)
SQI intends to use the proceeds of the Funding to invest in
manufacturing and commercialization scaleup activities, in
anticipation of approvals of its filed and pending US FDA
regulatory submissions. "I and the insiders continue to have
confidence in our investment in SQI and its recent product
development accomplishments", said Clive
Beddoe, SQI's Interim Chief Executive Officer. "We are
approaching a significant inflection point for the Company and this
injection of capital will strengthen our balance sheet and allow
the Company to continue its momentum towards
commercialization."
In connection with the completion of the Funding, the directors
of the Company, excluding the Control Persons, approved a waiver
(the "Acceleration Waiver" and, together with the Funding,
the "Insider Warrant Arrangement") by the Company of
the Company's right to accelerate the expiry date of all 59,437,504
of its currently outstanding common share purchase warrants with
expiry date acceleration provisions (the "Accelerable
Warrants"), including: (i) 12,344,233 Accelerable Warrants with
expiry dates that could be accelerated in the event that the Shares
traded at a price of $0.43 for at
least 20 consecutive trading days, of which 11,538,462 such
Accelerable Warrants are held by Control Persons; and (ii)
47,093,271 Accelerable Warrants with expiry dates that could be
accelerated in the event that the Shares traded at a price of
$0.50 for at least 20 consecutive
trading days of which 39,675,005 such Accelerable
Warrants are held by Control Persons. As a result of the
Acceleration Waiver, all outstanding 59,437,504 Accelerable
Warrants will remain exercisable for the duration of their
respective terms regardless of the trading price of the Shares.
The Insider Warrant Arrangement may be considered a related
party transaction within the meaning of TSX Venture Exchange Policy
5.9 and Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority
Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The
Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and
minority approval requirements in sections 5.5(g) and 5.7(1)(e) of
MI 61-101 in respect of the Insider Warrant Arrangement on the
basis of financial hardship.
About SQI Diagnostics
SQI Diagnostics, Inc. is a precision medicine company that
discovers, develops and commercializes innovative rapid diagnostic
testing for healthcare providers, patients and consumers worldwide.
The Company's proprietary advanced diagnostics target organ
transplant, autoimmune disease and serological testing, which
include the developmental direct-to-consumer COVID-19 HOME Antibody
Test, the RALI-Dx™ COVID-19 Severity Triage Test and the COVID-19
RALI-fast™ Severity Triage Point-of-Care (POC) Test. SQI's
rapid diagnostic tests are intended to be sold to healthcare
professionals so that patients can get accurate results and fast
effective treatment, and direct-to-consumers so that individuals
can be empowered to improve their health outcomes from the comfort
of home.
Under serological testing, SQI is fast-tracking the development
of three COVID-19 diagnostic tests: a direct-to-consumer Antibody
Test and two COVID-19 Severity Triage tests. The COVID-19 HOME
Antibody Test identifies the presence of IgM, IgA and IgG
antibodies of SARS-CoV-2 in individuals suspected to have been
infected with COVID-19 and asymptomatic individuals wanting to know
if they have been exposed. The test is > 99% accurate with
results delivered in 24-48 hours. Should the COVID-19 HOME Antibody
Test receive regulatory approval, the test is expected to be
available direct-to-consumer which would allow individuals to avoid
travelling to a clinic or hospital to be tested for the presence of
the SARS-CoV-2 antibody.
The RALI-Dx™ COVID-19 Severity Triage Test and the
RALI-fast™ COVID-19 Severity Triage POC Test each help
clinicians identify which patients with SARS-CoV-2 will have a
severe inflammatory response and require hospital admission or not.
Both tests measure the critical biomarker IL-6 which plays a key
role in the cytokine storm phase of COVID-19. The RALI-Dx™ delivers
results from the lab in under an hour while the RALI-fast™
delivers results at the patient's point-of-care in about 15
minutes.
Under organ transplant, SQI is pioneering the development of an
advanced diagnostic test that increases the chance of successful
lung transplant by assessing the health of the donor organ prior to
transplant surgery. The Company's developmental TORdx™ LUNG
Test can detect inflammation at the molecular level to assess the
health of the donor lung, enabling surgeons to transplant healthy
lungs which otherwise would have been rejected; there is currently
no other such test. SQI has partnered clinical development with UHN
Hospitals, one of the largest health and medical research
organizations in North America.
Upon regulatory approval of the TORdx™ LUNG Test, clinical
development is planned for diagnostic tests designed to increase
the chance of successful kidney and liver transplant. Under
autoimmune disease testing, SQI has a direct-to-consumer Celiac
Disease and a Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Test that enable people to
screen for the diseases from the comfort of their home. The
direct-to-consumer RA Test can help identify and confirm RA
symptoms for timely care and treatment. The direct-to-consumer
Celiac Test confirms disease and validates the effectiveness of
dietary and lifestyle changes to confirm the autoimmune response is
improving.
The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its
products can eliminate, cure or contain COVID- 19 (or SARS-2
Coronavirus) at this time. For its research and development, the
Company is collaborating with UHN Hospitals, one of the largest
health and medical research organization in North America.
Contact:
Chief Financial Officer
Morlan Reddock
416.674.9500 ext. 277
mreddock@sqidiagnostics.com
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This press release contains certain words and statements,
which may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of applicable securities laws relating to future events or
future performance and reflect the current expectations and
assumptions of the Company regarding its growth, results of
operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities.
These statements generally can be identified by use of
forward-looking words such as "may", "would", "could", "will",
"should", "expect", "plan", "estimate", "anticipate", "intends",
"believe", "potential", or "continue" or the negative thereof or
similar variations. The Company's actual results and performance
discussed herein could differ materially from those expressed or
implied by such statements. Such statements are qualified in their
entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future
expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from expectations include, among other things,
general economic and market factors, competition, the effect of the
global pandemic and consequent economic disruption, and the factors
detailed in the Company's ongoing filings with the securities
regulatory authorities, available at www.sedar.com. Although the
forward-looking statements contained herein are based on what we
consider to be reasonable assumptions based on information
currently available to us, there can be no assurance that actual
events, performance or results will be consistent with these
forward looking statements, and our assumptions may prove to be
incorrect. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements either as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sqi-diagnostics-inc-announces-3-9-million-funding-via-warrant-exercise-by-insiders-301313026.html
SOURCE SQI Diagnostics Inc.