BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPAX) today announced that it has received commitments from several institutional investors to purchase $15 million of securities in a registered direct offering. The investors are Deerfield Management Company and other institutional investors. BioSante expects to receive net proceeds of approximately $14.2 million after deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses. BioSante has entered into securities purchase agreements with these investors pursuant to which BioSante has agreed to sell an aggregate of approximately 7.1 million shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase up to approximately 3.55 million additional shares of its common stock. Each unit, consisting of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase 0.50 of a share of common stock, will be sold for a purchase price of $2.1025, a premium to the closing bid price on Friday June 18, 2010.
"We are pleased to have Deerfield make an additional investment, and have other new institutional investors in BioSante," said Stephen M. Simes, BioSante's president and chief executive officer. "This additional funding from these high quality institutional investors provides us with a strong cash cushion ensuring our ongoing focus on our LibiGel® Phase III clinical study program. Our objective is to submit a new drug application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011. LibiGel remains the lead pharmaceutical product in the U.S. in active development for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in menopausal women, and we continue to believe that LibiGel has the potential to be the first product approved by the FDA for this common and unmet medical need."
The warrants to purchase additional shares will be exercisable at an exercise price of $2.45 per share beginning immediately and will expire five years from the date that the warrants are issued. All of the securities were offered pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement. Proceeds from the transaction will be used for general corporate purposes, including continuing to fund BioSante's LibiGel Phase III clinical study program, as well as to seek opportunities for its GVAX cancer immunotherapies, 2A/Furin and other technologies. The offering is expected to be consummated by June 23, 2010, subject to customary closing conditions.
Rodman & Renshaw, LLC, a subsidiary of Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group, Inc., (NASDAQ: RODM), acted as the exclusive placement agent for the transaction. JMP Securities LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and Trout Capital LLC acted as financial advisors.