BOSTON, April 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Intarcia
Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the closing of a $225 million synthetic royalty financing with an
equity conversion option at a $5.5
billion Company valuation. Plans are to use these funds to
accelerate the initiation of additional head-to-head comparative
and switch studies of ITCA 650 vs. leading oral and injectable type
2 diabetes therapies. In addition, proceeds from the financing will
fund the expected infrastructure and talent required to launch ITCA
650 in the United States, and to
advance the Company's recently in-licensed pipeline assets.
Under the terms of the deal, investors have purchased
Convertible Limited Recourse Notes from Intarcia and are entitled
to receive quarterly payments equal to 1.5% of future global net
sales of ITCA 650 until the notes mature or are fully paid.
Investors have the option, commencing upon U.S. regulatory approval
of ITCA 650 and ending on the later of the second anniversary of
the approval or December 31, 2019, to
convert their synthetic royalty interests into Intarcia common
stock at a conversion price corresponding to an equity valuation of
$5.5 billion.
"Our vision and driving belief remains that we can and must
discover a new and game-changing way to deliver better medicines,
and better health outcomes, with just once- or twice-yearly dosing
for chronic diseases," said Kurt
Graves, Chairman, President and CEO of Intarcia.
"Transforming the status quo trends around poor control, poor
compliance and costly outcomes in diabetes is mission critical
around the world. Our aim with ITCA 650 is to deliver a once-yearly
medicine that succeeds beyond the key efficacy and compliance
shortcomings that the majority of patients experience when trying
to stick with life-long pills and self-injections," added Graves.
"This large and innovative financing announced today is another
first-of-its-kind in our industry, and it shows investor confidence
in our pivotal data, our partnerships and our overall approach to a
huge unmet need and opportunity in type 2 diabetes. We've now
secured the financial means to keep 100 percent control of the U.S.
commercialization of ITCA 650, with funds needed all the way
through the planned approval and early launch period in 2017. In
parallel, we are also advancing our product pipeline more
aggressively, including our recent Numab collaboration, aiming to
develop new once- or twice-yearly antibody-based therapies and
combinations for diabetes, obesity and autoimmune diseases."
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as sole structuring agent to
Intarcia on this novel transaction. PhaRMA(SM) is a service mark of
Morgan Stanley.
About Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.
Intarcia
Therapeutics, Inc. is an independent, privately held,
biopharmaceutical company developing therapies to enhance treatment
outcomes by optimizing and improving the efficacy, continuous
administration and tolerability of drug therapies. Delivering
medicines just once or twice yearly has the potential to ensure
improved patient adherence and compliance, which is otherwise
difficult to achieve in most chronic diseases. Intarcia's drug
development expertise and competitive edge are demonstrated by its
abilities to stabilize proteins and peptides at above-body
temperature and to deliver them in a constant and consistent manner
via Intarcia's proprietary technology platform. Intarcia is
conducting a phase 3 development program for type 2 diabetes that
consists of four separate clinical trials, two of which have been
completed. Intarcia continues to conduct research and development,
utilizing its platform technology, to treat other chronic serious
disorders in the field of diabetes, obesity and autoimmune
diseases. For more information on Intarcia, please visit
www.intarcia.com.
About ITCA 650
ITCA 650 (a once- or twice-yearly
continuous subcutaneous delivery of exenatide) is being developed
for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The investigational therapy
employs Intarcia's proprietary technology platform involving a
matchstick-size, miniature osmotic pump that is placed sub-dermally
to provide continuous and consistent drug therapy, and the
company's proprietary formulation technology, which maintains
stability of therapeutic proteins and peptides at human body
temperatures for extended periods of time. Exenatide, the active
agent in ITCA 650, is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor
agonist currently marketed globally as twice-daily and once-weekly
self-injection therapies for type 2 diabetes. Upon approval,
ITCA 650 would represent the first injection-free GLP-1 therapy
that can deliver up to a full year of treatment from a single
placement. ITCA 650 is currently in a global phase 3 clinical
trial program called FREEDOM.
Intarcia and its logo are registered trademarks of Intarcia
Therapeutics, Inc.
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SOURCE Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc.