Patrys secures funding of up to A$15 million to support advancement of clinical products

Aug 3 2010

Patrys Limited (ASX: PAB), a company focused on the development of natural human antibodies for the treatment of cancer, announced today that it has secured up to A$15 million in funding.

The funding facility has a term of up to three years and is divided into three "tranches" of A$5 million. 

Patrys will receive a minimum of A$4 million during the first twelve (12) months of the facility.  The investor, the Advance Opportunities Fund (Advance), has the option to provide an additional A$1 million of funding to complete the first tranche of the facility. 

Two additional tranches of $5 million each may be provided during the three-year term of the facility, subject to the consent of both parties.

Advance is an institutional investment fund managed by Singaporean based Value Capital Asset Management.

Patrys intends to use the funding to enhance shareholder value primarily by supporting the advancement of its lead anti-cancer therapeutic candidates, including, but not exclusively, PAT-SM6, PAT-SC1 and PAT-LM1.

• PAT-SM6:  the Company has recently received approval to commence a clinical trial to evaluate PAT-SM6 as a treatment for melanoma.   The funding received from Advance will be used in part to advance PAT-SM6 into a larger clinical trial in 2011 that will target additional melanoma patients and patients with other cancers.
• PAT-SC1:  PAT-SC1 is a very promising therapeutic candidate that has already provided a significant survival benefit to 35 gastric cancer patients treated with the product in a Phase I/II human clinical trial.  During the remainder of 2010 and first half of 2011, Patrys intends to manufacture PAT-SC1 in preparation for a Phase IIb trial targeting gastric cancer patients.
• PAT-LM1:  lead product PAT-LM1, which has shown great promise as a potential treatment for several deadly cancers, will be prepared for a clinical trial which is expected to begin in the second half of CY2011.  This trial would target patients with several different types of cancer.

Each of PAT-SM6, PAT-SC1 and PAT-LM1 utilise new mechanisms for killing cancer, offering patients an alternative where existing products are largely ineffective at prolonging survival. 

Advance will subscribe for structured notes, which the investor may elect to convert to ordinary shares using one of two pricing formulas:

• 35% premium to share price at beginning of each $5 million tranche:  notes to be converted at a 35% premium to the weighted average price of Patrys shares at the beginning of each respective $5 million tranche.
• 15% discount to future price:  notes to be converted to equity at a 15% discount to the weighted average price of Patrys shares at the time of the actual future conversion.

Further details of the facility are outlined in the attached Appendix.

Patrys Chief Executive Officer, Dan Devine said:  “This facility secures an important source of funds at an exciting phase of the Company’s development as Patrys advances several lead products through various stages of clinical development."

"Patrys was able to lock in this funding at either a premium to today's price or based on future prices, meaning all funding received will be done at a price that should reflect the ongoing achievement of clinical, partnering and other milestones,” added Patrys Chief Financial Officer, Roger McPherson.

Jason Fisher, Partner, from Advance Opportunities Fund added: “Patrys has all of the elements we are looking for in one of our portfolio companies.  Internally, it has multiple products with upcoming clinical milestones, an experienced management team, and a very novel and promising human antibody platform and pipeline.  Externally, it is operating in one of biotechnology's most lucrative spaces, antibody therapeutics, and is targeting large markets by going after deadly cancers.  These factors point to great opportunities for value growth.”