THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE EU REGULATION 596/2014 ("MAR") AND ARTICLE 7 OF MAR AS IT FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC LAW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 ("UK MAR")
Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd
("Faron" or the "Company")
Company announcement, February 19, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. GMT / 12:30 p.m. EET
Inside information: the Company is in Events of Default under the terms of the Funding Agreement between IPF Fund II SCA, SICAV-FIAR and Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd
TURKU, FINLAND / BOSTON, MA - Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd (First North: FARON, AIM: FARN), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering macrophage reprogramming for effective anticancer immunotherapies, today announces that it is in breach of several undertakings agreed in the secured debt agreement dated February 28, 2022 between IPF Fund II SCA, SICAV-FIAR ("IPF") as Lender and Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd as Borrower ("Funding Agreement") and subsequent waiver letters provided by IPF, and is therefore in several Events of Default, as defined in the Funding Agreement.
Faron's bank accounts are pledged to IPF and IPF has notified Faron's banks of the blocking of the Pledged Accounts due to the above mentioned breaches. The Company presently does not have ability to remedy the breaches, nor make payments to third parties without separate consent from IPF. Negotiations related to possible restructuring of the loan facility as well as waiver of covenant obligations are ongoing with IPF. A further announcement will be made in due course.
The total cash and cash equivalents held by the Company is currently ca. EUR 4.3 million, which are enough to cover the company's financing needs until the beginning of April, 2024.
For more information please contact:
Investor Contact, US
LifeSci Advisors
Daniel Ferry
Managing Director
+1 (617) 430-7576
Investor Contact, EUR
Faron Pharmaceuticals
Yrjö E K Wichmann
SVP, Funding & Investor Relations
Phone: +358 (0) 40 5868 979
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP, Nomad
Sandy Jamieson, Jo Turner
Phone: +44 (0) 207 213 0880
Sisu Partners Oy, Certified Adviser on Nasdaq First North
Juha Karttunen
Phone: +358 (0)40 555 4727
Jukka Järvelä
Phone: +358 (0)50 553 8990
ICR Consilium
Mary-Jane Elliott, David Daley, Lindsey Neville
Phone: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
About Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Faron (AIM: FARN, First North: FARON) is a global, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focused on tackling cancers via novel immunotherapies. Its mission is to bring the promise of immunotherapy to a broader population by uncovering novel ways to control and harness the power of the immune system. The Company's lead asset is bexmarilimab, a novel anti-Clever-1 humanized antibody, with the potential to remove immunosuppression of cancers through targeting myeloid cell function. Bexmarilimab is being investigated in Phase I/II clinical trials as a potential therapy for patients with hematological cancers in combination with other standard treatments. Further information is available at www.faron.com.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements in this announcement are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'', ''could'', "should", "expect", ''envisage'', ''estimate'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'', ''potentially'', ''will'' or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof), competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors.
A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results and expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. In addition, other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially include the ability of the Company to successfully licence its programmes, risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions, competition, environmental and other regulatory changes, actions by governmental authorities, the availability of capital markets or other sources of funding, reliance on key personnel, uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Subject to any continuing obligations under applicable law or any relevant AIM Rule requirements, in providing this information the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any of the forward-looking statements or to advise of any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.