LONDON: NetScientific plc (AIM: NSCI), the international life sciences and sustainability technology investment and commercialisation Group, announced that its portfolio company, PDS Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq: PDSB), announced that it has entered into a debt financing agreement led by Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: HRZN) (“Horizon”) to provide up to a $35.0 million term loan.
As part of the financing, PDS Biotech received an initial tranche of $25 million at the close. The Company has an option to receive an additional $10 million. Each advance of the loan will be repaid in 48 monthly payments consisting of 24 monthly payments of interest only, followed by 24 monthly payments of principal and accrued interest. In connection with the financing, PDS Biotech issued Horizon warrants to purchase up to 4% of the loan amount, 381,625 of its common shares at an exercise price of $3.6685 per share. Proceeds will be used to support the ongoing clinical development of PDS0101 and other product candidates within the company’s pipeline and for general working capital purposes.
Frank Bedu-Addo, Chief Executive Officer of PDS Biotech said: “We are pleased to partner with Horizon, a leading specialty finance company that has an extensive history of supporting innovative life science companies.
“We anticipate a number of important milestones across our oncology and infectious disease programs. This transaction immediately strengthens our balance sheet and provides the financial resources necessary to advance the company’s clinical pipeline. We look forward to our meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this quarter to discuss the registrational trial design for our lead program.”
Dr. Ilian Iliev, CEO of NetScientific, commented: “PDS is an outlier In the context of challenging biotech capital market conditions. This $35m venture debt package by a leading institution is a significant validation of the PDS team’s credibility and the validity of their investment and corporate development approach. This loan framework further extends PDS’ runway, and provides the certainty needed for the continued execution of their ambitious clinical pipeline. We are looking forward to PDS’ further clinical results announcements and progress in their discussions with the FDA.”