Argent BioPharma Ltd (LSE:MXC, OTC:RGTLF, ASX:RGT) has boosted its drug development pipeline by raising an additional US$2 million in a placement of 2.5 million fully paid ordinary shares at US$0.80 (~A$1.20) per share.
The placement by the innovative multidisciplinary drug development company within the biopharmaceutical sector comes hot on the heels of a recent raise that brought in US$500,000.
Placement participants will also be issued one free attaching warrant for every two placement shares subscribed for and these will be exercisable at US$1.20 (~A$1.80) each, expiring three years from the issue date.
397% premium
The issue price of ~A$1.20 per placement share represents approximately a 397% premium to the 15-day VWAP of A$0.302 prior to the stock being placed in a trading halt on July 12, 2024.
Proceeds from this placement and the previous raise will support the continuation of the company’s drug development pipeline, including CannEpil® and CimetrA® in the US and EU markets.
Placement shares and warrants will be issued under the company’s existing placement capacity in accordance with ASX listing Rule 7.1 and 7.1A with 1.25 million warrants under LR7.1 and 2.5 million placement shares under LR7.1A.
READ: Argent BioPharma secures US$500,000 for drug development pipeline
In the previous placement to a professional and sophisticated investor, the company issued 625,000 fully paid ordinary shares at US$0.80 (~A$1.20) per share, representing a premium of around 400% premium to the 15-day VWAP of A$0.30 prior to the stock being placed in a trading halt on June 28, 2024.
This investor was also issued one free attaching warrant for every two placement shares subscribed for, exercisable at US$1.20 (~A$1.80) each, expiring three years from the issue date.
Newest investor
At the time the company’s CEO and managing director Roby Zomer said: “We are delighted by the strong support from our newest investor, as reflected in the substantial premium to the current trading price.
“This raise will allow the company to continue the development of our key drug candidates, CannEpil® and CimetrA®.
"Our new investor's confidence underscores our pipeline's potential and our commitment to advancing innovative treatments for unmet medical needs, in the biopharmaceutical space.”
Argent BioPharma focuses on multidisciplinary methods with Nanotechnology, developing multi-target therapies for comprehensive disease management, especially concerning the central nervous system (CNS) and immunology treatments.