PRINCETON, N.J., June 16 Soligenix, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SNGX) (Soligenix or the Company), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has entered into common stock purchase agreements with both existing and new investors totaling approximately $5.16 million. Soligenix's North American commercial partner, Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals, Inc., participated in this financing.
Advertisement
Upon closing of the private placement, Soligenix will issue approximately 25,178,180 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase up to approximately 15,106,910 shares of Soligenix common stock for an aggregate price of approximately $5.16 million. The expiration date of the warrants will be accelerated if the Company's common stock meets certain price thresholds and Soligenix would receive additional gross proceeds of approximately $4.23 million if all are exercised. National Securities Corporation and Griffin Securities, Inc. served as co-placement agents on the financing.
Advertisement
"We are pleased with this vote of confidence and continued support from our partner Sigma-Tau and the institutional investors in what are obviously challenging market conditions," stated Christopher J. Schaber, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Soligenix. "With a strengthened balance sheet, our top priority remains the completion of our confirmatory Phase 3 trial of orBec® in the treatment of acute GI GVHD, an important unmet medical need."
The Company's common stock will be sold to accredited investors in a private placement in reliance on an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). The shares will not be registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws, and the shares may not be offered or sold by the investors absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. In connection with the offering, Soligenix has agreed to file a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the resale of the shares purchased within 7 business days after the closing of the transaction. This press release does not and will not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy shares and is being issued under Rule 135c under the Securities Act.
About Soligenix, Inc.
Soligenix, Inc. (Soligenix) is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing products to treat life-threatening side effects of cancer treatments and serious gastrointestinal diseases, and vaccines for certain bioterrorism agents. Soligenix's lead product, orBec® (oral beclomethasone dipropionate or BDP), is a potent, locally acting corticosteroid being developed for the treatment of acute gastrointestinal Graft-versus-Host-Disease (GI GVHD), a common and potentially life-threatening complication of hematopoietic cell transplantation. orBec® is currently the subject of a confirmatory Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of acute GI GVHD and an NIH-supported, Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in the prevention of acute GVHD. Soligenix has also recently initiated an NIH-supported Phase 1/2 clinical trial of SGX201 in the prevention of acute radiation enteritis. Additionally, Soligenix has a Lipid Polymer Micelle (LPM(TM)) drug delivery technology for the oral delivery of leuprolide for the treatment of prostate cancer and endometriosis.
Through its Biodefense Division, Soligenix is developing biomedical countermeasures pursuant to the Project BioShield Act of 2004. Soligenix's lead biodefense product in development is a recombinant subunit vaccine called RiVax(TM), which is designed to protect against the lethal effects of exposure to ricin toxin. RiVax(TM) has been shown to be well tolerated and immunogenic in a Phase 1 clinical trial in normal volunteers. RiVax(TM) is also the subject of a $9.4 million NIH grant received by the Company supporting development of new heat stable vaccines.
For further information regarding Soligenix, Inc., please visit the Company's website at www.soligenix.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect Soligenix, Inc.'s current expectations about its future results, performance, prospects and opportunities. Statements that are not historical facts, such as "anticipates," "believes," "intends," or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results in future periods to differ materially from what is expressed in, or implied by, these statements. Soligenix cannot assure you that it will be able to successfully develop or commercialize products based on its technology, including orBec®, SGX201, RiVax(TM), and LPM(TM), particularly in light of the significant uncertainty inherent in developing vaccines against bioterror threats, manufacturing and conducting preclinical and clinical trials of vaccines, and obtaining regulatory approvals, that its cash expenditures will not exceed projected levels, that product development and commercialization efforts will not be reduced or discontinued due to difficulties or delays in clinical trials or due to lack of progress or positive results from research and development efforts, that it will be able to successfully obtain any further grants and awards, maintain its existing grants which are subject to performance, enter into any biodefense procurement contracts with the US Government or other countries, that the US Congress may not pass any legislation that would provide additional funding for the Project BioShield program, that it will be able to patent, register or protect its technology from challenge and products from competition or maintain or expand its license agreements with its current licensors, or that its business strategy will be successful. Important factors which may affect the future use of orBec® for gastrointestinal GVHD include the risks that: the FDA's requirement that Soligenix conduct additional clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of orBec® will take a significant amount of time and money to complete and positive results leading to regulatory approval cannot be assumed; Soligenix is dependent on the expertise, effort, priorities and contractual obligations of third parties in the clinical trials, manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of its products; orBec® may not gain market acceptance if it is eventually approved by the FDA; and others may develop technologies or products superior to orBec®. Factors affecting the development and use of SGX201 and LPM(TM) are similar to those affecting orBec®. These and other factors are described from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, Soligenix's reports on Forms 10-Q and 10-K. Unless required by law, Soligenix assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events.
SOURCE Soligenix, Inc.
