Nedlands-based biotech company PYC Therapeutics is rattling the tin for up to $146 million to fund the progression of four novel drug candidates.
Nedlands-based biotech company PYC Therapeutics is rattling the tin for up to $146 million to fund the progression of four novel drug candidates.
Company chair and largest shareholder Alan Tribe has subscribed for some $35 million of new shares under the offer, while an existing shareholder has underwritten the offer to the tune of $70 million, guaranteeing at least $105 million through the plan.
Existing investors will be offered up to one new share for every four shares held, at an offer price of $1.25 per new share – a 2.7 per cent discount on the last traded price and 4.9 per cent discount on the five-day average prior to the announcement.
PYC Therapeutics chief executive Rohan Hockings said the funding runway, which would boost the company’s coffers above $200 million, would enable clinical efficacy data to be collected for several drugs simultaneously.
He said the raise would fund all four drug pipelines through to the 2027 financial year.
“The company now has scope to deliver substantial patient-impact across multiple high-value indications that lack approved treatment options today.”
The raise comes after, in April 2024, the company raised $74.6 million through the issue of some 933 million shares – at a price of 80 cents per share.
Following that raise, the company gained approval for its flagship PYC-001 drug candidate to enter human trials in August 2024.
PYC-001 is an intravitreal injection developed for patients with a blinding eye disease called autosomal dominant optic atrophy – a progressive and irreversible blinding eye disease affecting approximately one in every 35,000 people.
PYC-001 received US FDA orphan drug designation in May 2024, a designation given to drugs designed to treat rare diseases which comes with a host of benefits, including market exclusivity and tax incentives.
PYC was also recently named a newcomer to Business News’ BN30.
In January, the company announced a collaboration with Google to develop and host an artificial intelligence platform for precision medicines.
Under the project, its proprietary precision medicine data sets would be used and designed to predict the delivery of precision medicine to specific cells of the human body.
Mr Hockings was a 2022 40under40 award winner in the medium-sized business category, recognising the work he’d done to build the company.
PYC Therapeutics (ASX:PYC) shares entered a trading halt at $1.28 per share.
