Berkeley, CA and Vancouver, BC – Aug 2, 2017 – BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (“BriaCell” or the “Company”) (TSXV: BCT) (OTCQB: BCTXF), an immuno-oncology focused biotechnology company with a proprietary vaccine technology, is pleased to announce that Dr. William Williams, BriaCell’s President & CEO, has entered into a non-brokered private placement (the “Offering”) of 4,058,441 units of the Company (the “Units”) at a price of C$0.16 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of C$649.350.65. Under the terms of the Offering, each Unit shall consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (a “Common Share”). The Units (and securities underlying the Units) issued under the Offering will be subject to a four-month and one day hold period from the date of closing. The closing of the Offering is subject to, among other things, approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
It is expected that the net proceeds from the Offering will provide BriaCell with additional capital support to continue funding its clinical advancement efforts for its lead product candidate, BriaVax™ (currently in Phase I/IIa clinical trial), in addition to further development of BriaCell’s R&D programs including product pipeline from recent acquisition of Sapientia Pharmaceuticals.
“Dr. Williams’ continued financial support in addition to his deep expertise in oncology drug development reflects in his strong view on BriaCell’s growth potential that may not be adequately captured by the current market valuation,” commented Dr. Saeid Babaei, BriaCell’s Chairman of the Board. “BriaCell will use the proceeds from Dr. Williams’ equity investment to develop novel treatments that address unmet medical needs and to bring hope to patients with advanced breast cancer with little to no treatment options.”
“It is a privilege to work with BriaCell and to be entrusted with helping the company realize its vision for growing the company,” commented Dr. Williams, BriaCell’s CEO. “I am extremely excited about the prospects of BriaVax™, and believe that we also have a solid preclinical pipeline, acquired recently through Sapientia, to be developed for a number of indications including several types of cancer and fibrotic diseases. I am confident that BriaCell, with its highly qualified management team and its intellectual property, is well prepared to execute on its strategic plan.”
Due to the fact that Dr. Williams is an insider and a related party, his subscription is considered a “related party transaction” within the meaning of the TSX Venture Exchange Policy 5.9 and Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (“MI 61-101”). The Company intends to rely on the exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(b) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the Units nor the aggregate proceeds of the Offering exceeds 25% of the Company’s market capitalization.
About BriaCell
BriaCell is an immuno-oncology focused biotechnology company developing a targeted and safe approach to the management of cancer. BriaCell’s mission is to serve late-stage cancer patients with no available treatment options.
Immunotherapy has come to the forefront of the fight against cancer, harnessing the body’s own immune system in recognizing and selectively destroying the cancer cells while sparing normal ones. Immunotherapy, in addition to generally being more targeted and less toxic than commonly used types of chemotherapy, is also thought to be a strong type of approach aimed at preventing cancer recurrence.
BriaVax™, the Company’s lead product candidate, is a whole-cell breast cancer vaccine genetically engineered to release granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a substance that activates the immune system by allowing the body to recognize and eliminate cancerous cells by inducing tumor-directed T cell and potentially antibody responses.
The results of two previous Phase I clinical trials (one with the precursor cell line not genetically engineered to produce GM-CSF and one with BriaVax™) have been encouraging in patients with advanced breast cancer. Most notably, one patient with metastatic breast cancer responded to BriaVax™ with substantial reduction in tumor burden including lung and brain metastases. The company is currently conducting a Phase I/IIa clinical trial for BriaVax™ in patients with advanced breast cancer whose disease has progressed following at least one prior treatment course. This trial is listed in ClinTrials.gov as NCT03066947. The trial is being conducted along with the co-development of BriaDx™, our companion diagnostic test. The interim data for the first 10 patients is expected by the first quarter of 2018.
For additional information on BriaCell, please visit our website: https://briacell.com
About the Phase I/IIa Clinical Trial
The Phase I/IIa clinical trial is an open-label study enrolling up to 24 late-stage breast cancer patients with recurrent and/or metastatic disease. Patients will be administered BriaVax™ every two weeks for the first month of treatment, then monthly up to one year.
The primary objective of the clinical trial is to evaluate the safety of BriaVax™ in study subjects, and the principal secondary objective is an evaluation of the tumor size reduction. Tumor response will be monitored every three months during the study. The trial will also evaluate progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).
For additional details regarding the clinical trial, please visit:
https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03066947
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Except for the statements of historical fact, this news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation which involves known and unknown risks relevant to the Company in particular to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in general, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectation. These risks are more fully described in the Company’s public filings available at www.sedar.com. Other forward-looking information in this news release includes but is not limited to the intended use of proceeds of the Offering and other terms of the Offering, the expected timing of completion of the Offering, the Company’s ability to satisfy the conditions to completion of the offering and the need for additional financing.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact Information
For further information, please contact:
BriaCell Therapeutics Corp.:
Farrah Dean
Manager, Corporate Development
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-888-485-6340
Neither the 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.