Berkeley, CA and Vancouver, BC – April 22, 2016 – BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (“BriaCell” or the “Company”) (TSXV: BCT) (OTCQB: BCTXF) is very pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with a leading US biotechnology fund for an investment of C$650,000.
The subscription agreement of units (“Units”) is priced at C$0.19, each Unit consisting of one common share in the capital of the Company (a “Common Share”) and one Common Share purchase warrant (a “Warrant”). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional Common Share for a period of 60 months from closing at an exercise price of C$0.30.
The transaction is expected to close on or about April 26, 2016, subject to customary closing conditions including TSX Venture Exchange approval.
Rodman & Renshaw, a unit of H.C. Wainwright & Co. (“HCW”), a top New York investment bank, acted as placement agent. HCW has a specialized focused on biotech, and has successfully financed and listed many immuno-oncology companies onto the NASDAQ.
“We are extremely pleased to report that BriaCell is now funded through its next major milestones”, commented BriaCell’s CFO Gadi Levin. “Interest in BriaCell has surged upon the Company’s recent scientific research & development achievements. H.C. Wainwright and its institutional investor are both sophisticated in biotech, and we are pleased to have them as partners who believe in the potential of BriaCell’s immuno-oncology platform. This financing immediately creates significant value for the Company through enhancing the Company’s balance sheet, and of course positioning the Company to advance towards very important value drivers”.
BriaCell intends to use the offering proceeds toward the Company’s Phase I/IIa clinical trial, for advancing the BriaCell R&D program and companion diagnostic platform known as BriaDx™, and for general corporate purposes.
BRIACELL PLANS TO SEEK NASDAQ UPLIST
While HCW was successful in obtaining this important investment, which allows BriaCell to launch its Phase I/IIa clinical trial in the coming months without delay, this small placement is the beginning of a broader engagement through which BriaCell plans to seek an up-listing onto the NASDAQ.
The Company has long believed that the optimal stock exchange for a mature biotech is the NASDAQ. Biotech companies have been shown to thrive on the NASDAQ, with access to more institutional biotech investors. BriaCell believes that this successful equity investment with a US investment bank and US institutional investor, represents promise in regard to the possible interest levels for a NASDAQ up-listing. There is no guarantee of a successful up-list, and the Company will provide an update on events as they progress.
As BriaCell readies for its long-awaited Phase I/IIa clinical trial with up to 24 cancer patients, the Company believes it is now well positioned to pursue such a listing. This is compounded by recent success on the BriaCell companion diagnostic and R&D platform; including developments pertaining to the BriaVaxTM discovered gene signature and proposed mechanism of action. The Company completed a scientific presentation on this research, and has now made the data available at this link: https://briacell.com/novel-technology/mechanism-of-action/.
ABOUT BRIACELL
BriaCell is an immuno-oncology biotechnology company developing a more targeted, less toxic approach to cancer management. BriaCell’s mission is to serve late-stage cancer patients with no other 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 is a genetically engineered whole-cell vaccine derived from a human breast tumor cell line. This targeted vaccine is believed to generate strong antibody and T-cell responses, which in turn may boost the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancerous cells. The Company has already demonstrated encouraging clinical results, and is intent on building upon these results to further advance BriaVax™ through additional FDA-approved clinical trials in order to help cancer patients with no other options. The results of two previous FDA Phase I clinical trials have been encouraging in terms of both safety and efficacy in patients with advanced solid tumors (17 breast cancer, 1 ovarian cancer).
In some cases, patient survival was three to five times longer than would have been expected. For more information, please visit www.briacell.com
CONTACT INFORMATION
For further information contact:
BriaCell Therapeutics Corp.
820 Heinz Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94710
Ms. Farrah Dean
Manager, Corporate Development
Phone: 1-888-485-6340
Email: [email protected]
Reader Advisory
The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the Company has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. 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.
The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
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 and 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 disclosed 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, the intentions, the need for additional financing and risks associated with the availability of further funding, plans and future actions of the Company; and other information that is not historical fact.
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.