Oxford, UK – 28 May 2019: Oxford Biomedica plc (LSE:Oxford Biomedica) (“Oxford Biomedica” or “the Group”), a leading gene and cell therapy group, today announces that Novo Holdings A/S (“Novo Holdings”), has agreed to invest up to £53.5 million in the Group in return for new ordinary shares representing up to 10.1% of the outstanding shares after the capital increase (the “Transaction”).
The proceeds from the Transaction will be used to repay the existing debt facility with Oaktree Capital Management in full and to further develop the LentiVector® platform and the proprietary product portfolio. The price per new ordinary share to be paid by Novo Holdings is equal to the closing market price on Friday, 24 May 2019. For more information, see section “About the Transaction” below.
Oxford Biomedica is at the centre of the rapidly emerging gene and cell therapy sector by which life-changing and curative treatment has become a therapeutic reality. Leveraging its world-leading LentiVector® platform, Oxford Biomedica benefits from a dual strategy to support its partners in the development and commercialisation of their gene and cell therapy programmes while also pursuing the development of a proprietary product portfolio for later out-licensing. This strategy has resulted in a number of partnerships, including with Novartis and Sanofi, as well as the out-licensing of Oxford Biomedica-102 (AXO-Lenti-PD) to Axovant Gene Therapies.
The investment from Novo Holdings will enable Oxford Biomedica to take advantage of its leading position and further exploit the growth opportunities in the sector.
John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Biomedica, commented:
“We are delighted that Novo Holdings has become a shareholder in Oxford Biomedica. Novo Holdings is a well-known and highly regarded long-term investor with significant expertise in working with innovative, life sciences businesses to unlock their growth potential. This experience will be a great asset far beyond the financial commitment they have made to the Group and their collaboration and support will be highly valuable as we seek to scale up our operations both on the platform and on the proprietary product portfolio.”
Robert Ghenchev, Director at Novo Holdings, added:
“Oxford Biomedica is a global scientific and manufacturing leader within lentiviral vectors, one of the most established and well-validated technologies for delivering gene and cell therapies. This investment underscores Novo Holdings’ commitment to supporting companies developing cutting-edge science that makes a real difference to patients and society. We are genuinely excited about this investment and look forward to working with Oxford Biomedica and supporting the Group going forward.”
About the Transaction
Under the Subscription Agreement entered into by Novo Holdings and Oxford Biomedica in relation to the Transaction, Novo Holdings has agreed to subscribe for 6,568,024 new ordinary shares in Oxford Biomedica (the “Subscription Shares”) at a price of £6.90 per share (the “Subscription Price”). The Subscription Agreement also provides an option for Novo Holdings to subscribe for up to a further 1,181,976 new ordinary shares in Oxford Biomedica (the “Further Shares”) at the Subscription Price by the 30 June 2019 (the “Subscription Option”). Exercise of the Subscription Option in full would increase Novo Holdings’ ownership to 10.1% of the Company following the issuance of the Subscription Shares and the Further Shares. Under the Subscription Agreement, Novo Holdings is granted the right to appoint a non-executive director to the Board of Oxford Biomedica following the issuance of the Subscription Shares.
The Subscription Shares are to be issued on a non pre-emptive basis utilising existing shareholder authorities granted at the Company’s 2018 AGM. The option to subscribe for the Further Shares is conditional upon the passing of certain resolutions at the Company’s 2019 AGM. Applications will be made for the Subscription Shares to be admitted to the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and to be admitted to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange plc (together, “Admission”). Admission of the Subscription Shares is expected to take place at 8.00 a.m. on 3 June 2019.
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Enquiries:
Oxford Biomedica plc
John Dawson, Chief Executive Office | T: +44 (0)1865 783 000
Stuart Paynter, Chief Financial Officer | T: +44 (0)1865 783 000
Catherine Isted, Head of Corporate Development & IR | T: +44 (0)1865 954 161 / E: ir@oxb.com
Sarah MacLeod, Head of Communications | T: +44 (0)7747 602 739 / E: media@oxb.com
Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott/Matthew Neal | T: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
Novo Holdings A/S
Christian Mostrup Scheel | T: +45 3527 6605 / E: cims@novo.dk
Peel Hunt (Joint Corporate Brokers to Oxford Biomedica)
James Steel / Dr Christopher Golden | T: +44 (0)20 7418 8900
WG Partners (Joint Corporate Brokers to Oxford Biomedica)
David Wilson / Claes Spång | T: +44 (0)20 3705 9321
About Novo Holdings A/S
Novo Holdings A/S is a private limited liability company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. It is the holding company of the Novo Group, comprising Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S, and is responsible for managing the Foundation’s assets. As part of its mandate, Novo Holdings provides seed and venture capital to development-stage companies, takes significant ownership positions in high growth and well-established companies within life science, and manages a broad portfolio of financial assets. Within the area of growth equity, Novo Holdings’ strategy is to invest in market-leading companies developing highly innovative science and well-positioned to capture share in attractive underlying markets. It is the vision of Novo Holdings to be recognized as a world-leading life science investor with a focus on creating long-term value. Further information is available at www.novoholdings.dk.
About Oxford Biomedica
Oxford Biomedica (LSE:Oxford Biomedica) is a leading gene and cell therapy group focused on developing life changing treatments for serious diseases. Oxford Biomedica and its subsidiaries (the “Group”) have built a sector leading lentiviral vector delivery platform (LentiVector®), which the Group leverages to develop in vivo and ex vivo products. The Group has created a valuable proprietary portfolio of gene and cell therapy product candidates in the areas of oncology, ophthalmology and CNS disorders. The Group has also entered into a number of partnerships, including with Novartis, Sanofi, Axovant Gene Therapies, Orchard Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim, the UK Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium and Imperial Innovations, through which it has long-term economic interests in other potential gene and cell therapy products. Oxford Biomedica is based across several locations in Oxfordshire, UK and employs more than 430 people. Further information is available at www.oxb.com.