Heidelberg Pharma AG raises €34.4m

Gross proceeds from the oversubscribed capital measure, which was supported by existing shareholders and new institutional investors, will secure financing of the company’s operations until 2020. Heidelberg Pharma’s majority shareholder dievini Hopp BioTech Holding GmbH & Co. KG acquired almost all convertible bonds (13,882,276) and around 76% (5.75 million) of the new shares, 1,511,128 of which against contribution of the repayment claim under the loan agreement of 11 October 2016 and 4,241,834 new shares in cash. Heidelberg Pharma said the funds will be used to finance the company’s preclinical development programmes. Besides its proprietary pipeline, the company has established several partnerships. 

Heidelberg Pharma is the first company to use the RNA polymerase II blocker alpha-Amanitin as toxic payload of antibody-drug conjugates, the company named ATACs (Antibody Targeted Amanitin Conjugates). While all other ADCs use either tubulin blockers or DNA intercalators, Heidelberg Pharma believes its ATACs to be the only ADCs that can also kill resting, non-dividing tumour (stem) cells by targeting transcription, thus breaking tumour resistance. The company’s lead ATAC HDP-101 targets BCMA, a protein that is highly expressed at the surface of multiple myeloma cells and in approximately 50% of chronic lymphocytic lymphoma (CCL) and diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma cells (DLBLC).

„Through this extensive capital measure, we have secured the funds required in particular to launch the clinical development of our development candidate HDP-101,“ said Dr. Jan Schmidt-Brand, CFO of Heidelberg Pharma, „and we expect these funds to be sufficient to continue development until initial indications of efficacy in patients are available.” 

Once the execution of the capital increase has been recorded in the Commercial Register at Mannheim Local Court, the new share capital of the company will be €22,452,570.00 divided into 22,452,570 no par value bearer shares. The gross issue proceeds from the new shares amount to €19,458,894, thereof €15,529,961 from the cash contribution and €3,928,933 from the contribution in kind. Heidelberg Pharma has thus fully utilized the authorized capital available for the issuance of new shares.

Heidelberg Pharma has generated gross issue proceeds of €14,968,380 from issuing 14,968,380 convertible bonds with a principal amount of EUR 1.00 each. The company will not make any interest payments on the convertible bonds (zero-coupon bonds). The bond creditors have the right to convert the convertible bonds into a maximum of 5,757,069 new shares at a conversion price of €2.60 per share from 11 January 2018 up to the final maturity date, subject to certain lock-up periods.