Incanthera, the drug development and targeted cancer medicines company, (“Incanthera” or “the Company”), is pleased to announce that it has signed Heads of Terms on a clinical development collaboration with ImmuPharma PLC, the AIM listed drug discovery and development company (LSE: IMM).
Under the terms of the deal, Incanthera will licence an oncology programme from ImmuPharma, a pharmaceutical development company. The programme, named Nucant, has demonstrated promising results in two Phase I trials (safety and dose-finding studies).
The Nucant oncology programme will prove an exciting addition to Incanthera’s existing oncology portfolio.
Key highlights of the Heads of Terms are summarised below:
- Incanthera, based on its positive due-diligence on the Company’s Nucant technology, will licence in and take up the continued clinical development of the Nucant cancer programme as an integral part of its cancer development portfolio.
- As an integral part of the collaboration, upon signing the Heads of Terms, ImmuPharma has invested £2m into Incanthera by subscribing for 363,637 new ordinary Incanthera shares at a price of £5.50 per share. This investment values Incanthera at a pre-money valuation of approximately £10m and is consistent with the most recent funding round that Incanthera completed in March 2018. Following this investment, ImmuPharma will have a circa 16% shareholding in Incanthera.
- ImmuPharma has granted Incanthera a period of exclusivity until 31st December 2018, during which the Company and Incanthera will finalise the terms of a Definitive Licence Agreement for the Nucant technology. These terms are expected to include, but will not be limited to the following:
- Incanthera will pay a licence payment to ImmuPharma of £1m, with this payment to be made via the issuance of new ordinary shares in Incanthera. This payment in shares is separate and will be in addition to the shareholding which Immupharma currently holds as described above;
- Incanthera will be responsible for all of the development costs for the Nucant programme; and
- All future commercialisation revenues will be shared equally between the two companies.
Further updates will be announced as appropriate.
Commenting on the collaboration, Simon Ward, CEO of Incanthera Ltd said:
“We are delighted to announce this collaboration with ImmuPharma.
The Nucant programme proves a good fit with our existing oncology portfolio, and we welcome the opportunity of developing it further, specifically given its promising results shown across the Phase I trials.
It also demonstrates a further licensing example at a pivotal and exciting stage for Incanthera as we work towards an IPO on AIM.”
ImmuPharma’s Chief Executive, Dimitri Dimitriou, added:
“Incanthera and ImmuPharma have long identified common areas over which they have been in discussion and we are delighted to now partner our oncology programme with a company which has shown such specialism in this area with a diverse and exciting portfolio established over many years.”
For further information, please contact:
Incanthera Limited
Simon Ward
Chief Executive Officer
+44 (0) 7747 625506
Suzanne Brocks
Head of IR and Communications
+44 (0) 7776 234600
ImmuPharma PLC
Dimitri Dimitriou
Chief Executive Officer
+44 (0) 20 7152 4080
Lisa Baderoon
Head of Investor Relations
+ 44 (0) 07721 413 496
Notes to Editors
Established in 2010, Incanthera is committed to the development of novel treatments for solid tumours (cancers), and licensing these to large pharmaceutical companies.
Operating from Manchester, with research facilities in Bradford and Salford, Incanthera was established from the University of Bradford’s Institute of Cancer Therapeutics (www.cancer.brad.ac.uk) to develop oncology treatments from a low cost base via a productive pipeline of early stage technology opportunities.
Managed by a team of experienced individuals drawn from commercial, scientific and regulatory backgrounds, the team also has experience in the establishment, growth and exit of small to medium sized companies.
The website at www.incanthera.com has been designed to showcase the Company’s outstanding expertise in cancer therapeutic technologies.
ImmuPharma PLC
ImmuPharma is a specialist drug discovery and development company focusing on developing novel medicines in specialist markets with serious unmet need. Listed on AIM since 2006, (LSE:IMM) ImmuPharma is led by a commercially focused Board and management team.
For more information please go to the website: www.immupharma.co.uk