Glycotest Completes $10m Series A Round with Fosun

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NetScientific PLC

22 October 2018

 

A conference call for analysts and investors will be held today at 13:00 BST / 08:00 EST. Dial in details can be found below.

NetScientific plc

("NetScientific" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Glycotest Inc. Completes $10 Million Series A Financing with Fosun Pharma

Significant external equity investment by a prominent pharmaceutical company in a NetScientific portfolio company

London, UK - October 22, 2018

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.

NetScientific plc ("NetScientific", AIM: NSCI), the transatlantic healthcare IP commercialisation group, announces that its portfolio company Glycotest Inc. has successfully agreed to a $10m Series A financing round with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Fosun Pharma"), a leading healthcare group based in China.

The transaction includes an equity investment of an upfront initial tranche of $3 million, with the remaining $7 million due on completion of certain milestones, in return for a 40% interest in Glycotest Inc.. The transaction is contingent on ODI (outbound direct investment) approval and The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approval.

The proceeds will be used to bring Glycotest Inc.'s diagnostic HCC Panel, a biomarker panel driven by a proprietary algorithm for the detection and surveillance of curable early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), towards commercialisation in the US and to advance pipeline assets in liver fibrosis and cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer). HCC is the most common form of primary liver cancer with over three million patients (killing c.350,000 pa^[1]) and has a market worth in excess of $800m in the US alone^[2]. Fosun Pharma is receiving the rights to develop and commercialise the HCC Panel in China, for which Glycotest Inc. will receive a royalty, with Glycotest Inc. retaining rights to ex-China markets.

Commenting on the news, NetScientific's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Glycotest Inc., Francois R. Martelet said:

"The agreement of this financing round marks a pivotal moment for Glycotest Inc. and will set in motion the final stage of its progression towards commercialisation in the US.

"This key event will also help NetScientific realise the true value of its portfolio, and we foresee further upside in the very near future.

"We are excited to collaborate with Fosun Pharma, to make the HCC Panel available in the Chinese market, where the prevalence of HCC is very significant and the incidence is growing."

The full text of the announcement from Glycotest Inc. can be found below.

Upon satisfaction of the contingent ODI approval, NetScientific's controlling interest will be 50.4% of Glycotest Inc. calculated on a fully-diluted basis following the closing of the Series A Financing.

[1] Chen, Jian-Guo & Zhang, Siwei. (2010). Liver cancer epidemic in China: Past, present and future. Seminars in cancer biology. 21. 59-69.; [2] Edison Investment Research

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For more information, please contact:

NetScientific   François R. Martelet, M.D., CEO   Ian Postlethwaite, CFO	Tel: [phone]
Consilium Strategic Communications   Mary-Jane Elliott / Chris Welsh    / Laura Thornton	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]
WHIreland (NOMAD and Broker) Chris Fielding / Jessica Cave / Chris Viggor	Tel: [phone]

A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at 13:00 BST / 08:00 EST. Dial in details are below. A corresponding presentation will be available to download at https://netscientific.net/presentations shortly before the call. 

UK / International: [phone]

United States:   [phone]

Conference ID 6797314

Glycotest Inc. Closes $10 Million Series A Financing

New York, NY-October 22, 2018.  Glycotest Inc., Inc., a diagnostics company commercializing new and unique blood tests for life threatening liver cancers and fibrosis-cirrhosis, announced today the close of a Series A funding round of $10 million from Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Fosun Pharma").  The transaction includes an equity investment of an initial tranche of $3 million with the remaining $7 million due on completion of certain milestones.  The transaction is contingent on Chinese ODI (outbound direct investment) approval and The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approval.

Under the terms of the agreement, Fosun Pharma receives 40% of Glycotest Inc. and an exclusive license to manufacture and sell the Glycotest Inc. HCC Panel blood test in China in return for a royalty on sales to Glycotest Inc..  The Company will use the proceeds of the financing to advance the HCC Panel toward commercial launch in the United States, complete transfer of the HCC Panel technology to Fosun Pharma, and further develop pipeline tests for liver fibrosis and cholangiocarcinoma, the second most prevalent form of liver cancer.

Glycotest Inc.'s HCC Panel is a unique algorithm-driven biomarker panel that takes advantage of the Company's patented fucosylated biomarker technology.  The HCC Panel is intended for surveillance of patients known to be at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the predominant form of primary liver cancer and fastest growing cause of cancer death in the United States.  Glycotest Inc. estimates that more than three million patients in the US are eligible for HCC surveillance testing.  Tests available now are ineffective for identifying patients with curable early-stage HCC. Currently, many patients with HCC are not identified until they have later stage disease and are no longer eligible for curative therapy.  Glycotest Inc. is commercializing the HCC Panel to provide physicians and patients an effective test for detecting curable disease.

In three clinical studies involving over 480 patients, the HCC Panel has demonstrated the ability to identify curable early-stage HCC more effectively than AFP, the currently dominant blood test for HCC. 

CEO Lawrence Cohen said, "This financing marks a watershed event for Glycotest Inc. that will support us in our momentum toward commercialization and enable us to offer the HCC Panel to the growing number of patients in the United States at risk for liver cancer.  We also look forward to working with our partner Fosun to transfer the HCC Panel technology to China where HCC kills more than 350,000 people each year."

Glycotest Inc. employs unique non-invasive blood tests based on proprietary serum biomarkers, biomarker panels and assay technology that exploit novel sugar-based disease signal chemistry.  Glycotest Inc.'s pipeline includes tests for liver cancers as well as liver fibrosis-cirrhosis.  The Company's mission is to reduce mortality and increase survival for the growing populations at risk due to serious underlying liver disease, including both viral hepatitis and non-viral forms of hepatitis such as NASH.

About NetScientific

NetScientific is a transatlantic healthcare technology group with an investment strategy focused on sourcing, funding and commercialising technologies that significantly improve the health and well-being of people with chronic diseases. For more information, please visit the website at www.netscientific.net.

About Glycotest Inc., Inc.

Glycotest Inc. is a private liver disease diagnostics company commercializing novel clinical laboratory testing services for patients with serious liver disease.  The Company was founded in 2012 on proprietary technology that originated at the Philadelphia area institutions Baruch S. Blumberg Institute and Drexel University College of Medicine. Learn more at www.Glycotest Inc..com.

About Fosun Pharma

Established in 1994, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd. ("Fosun Pharma"; stock code: 600196.SH, 02196.HK) is a leading healthcare group in the PRC. Adhering to the mission of improving human health, Fosun Pharma's business covers all key sectors of healthcare industry chain, including pharmaceutical manufacturing and R&D, healthcare services, medical devices and medical diagnosis, as well as pharmaceutical distribution and retail. Fosun Pharma always regards innovation as the driving force for its business growth. The company continuously optimized its pharmaceutical R&D system that integrates biosimilars and innovative drugs and has established international R&D teams in China, the United States, India, etc., forming a globally interactive R&D system. Fosun Pharma maintains a national recognized enterprise technology center and establishes innovative chemical drugs platform, biologics platform, high-value generic drugs platform and cell-therapy platform. At present, Fosun Pharma maintains the leading position with its core products in various therapeutic areas, including oncology, cardiovascular system, central nervous system, blood system, metabolism and alimentary system and anti-infection. All products occupy the leading position in each market segment.

 

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