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For Immediate Release
21 May 2021
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings Plc
Admission to Trading and First Day of Dealings
Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings Plc ("Company"), the holding company of Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Limited ("OCT"), a pre-revenue pharmaceutical company with an objective to develop cannabinoid-based prescription medicines approved by regulatory agencies including the US Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency, and the Medicines and Products Healthcare Regulatory Authority, is pleased to announce that its entire issued ordinary share capital consisting of 960,415,644 ordinary shares of £0.01 ("Ordinary Shares") will today be admitted to the standard segment of the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange Group plc's Main Market for listed securities (together, the "Admission"). Dealing will commence at 8:00 a.m. today under the TIDM OCTP (ISIN: GB00BMVMRB86 ).
Highlights
Ø OCT is a UK-based pharmaceutical company specialised in cannabinoid drug development. The Company's vision is to become a global leader in developing licensed prescription medicines that target the endocannabinoid system and address significant unmet medical needs with a primary focus on the pain market.
Ø The Company's strategy is to develop cannabinoid pharmaceuticals for the safe, effective, and non-addictive treatment of pain conditions, through GMP manufactured and dose-consistent prescription medicines that have undergone rigorous randomised, controlled clinical trials with regulatory marketing approval.
Ø The Group's primary market focus is the total addressable pain market, which is estimated to be worth at least £42.5 billion(1) by commercialisation of the first drug produced by OCT, currently anticipated to be in 2027.
Ø Through its outsourced model of research, OCT intends to create a portfolio of drugs with over £20 billion of serviceable available market, targeting a serviceable obtainable market of £1.55 billion with its first two drug development programmes alone.
Ø OCT's drug development strategy includes the development of proprietary cannabinoid derivatives, natural phytocannabinoids ("pCBs") and other drug compounds that interplay with the endocannabinoid system. OCT owns a proprietary library of 93 cannabinoid derivatives and has in-licensed the lead drug candidate, OCT461201, under a licence agreement entered into in September 2019.
Ø It is intended that the net placing proceeds will primarily fund the pre-clinical development and Phase 1 clinical trial of the Group's first drug candidate, OCT461201, the pre-clinical development and Phase 1 clinical trials of the Group's second drug candidate, a natural pCB combination, advancement of a third drug candidate from the Group's cannabinoid library from discovery stage to the pre-clinical stage and the advancement of a fourth drug candidate from discovery stage to a lead candidate.
(1) Figure(s) based on £/$ exchange rate as at 31 March 2021 of £1/$1.3785
John Lucas, Chief Executive Officer of OCT, said : "We are delighted that Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings Plc is now listed and trading on the London Stock Exchange. As a British pharmaceutical business, we are pushing back the frontiers of cannabinoid-based drug development. Being a listed company will provide new investors with the opportunity to participate in the next chapter of our exciting story. This IPO will enable us to take our pipeline of drugs through the next stage of development, including taking two of our drug candidates into clinical trials. Our ultimate objective is to provide greater options to improve patient outcomes and quality of life."
Statement from the Chairman
Neil Mahapatra, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of the Company added : "OCT has a pipeline of cannabinoid-based drugs candidates, with potential to address the unmet needs of the £42.5 billion global addressable pain market. With a strong and diversified management team, and our R&D partnerships, our aim is to become a global leader in the provision of prescription medicines targeting the endocannabinoid system. This listing is an important step in the Company's journey."
Defined terms in this announcement which are not defined herein shall have the same meanings as in the Prospectus.
PLACING STATISTICS
Number of Existing Ordinary Shares immediately prior to Admission following completion of the Share Exchange Agreement
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630,415,644 |
Placing Price
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£0.05 per Ordinary Share |
Number of Placing Shares
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330 million |
Enlarged Share Capital in issue following the issue of the Placing Shares and Admission
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960,415,644 |
Percentage of Enlarged Share Capital represented by Placing Shares
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34.36% |
Gross proceeds of the Placing
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£16.5 million |
Estimated expenses of the Placing and Admission (exclusive of VAT)
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£1.68 million |
Net Proceeds
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£14.82 million |
Market Capitalisation of the Company at the Placing Price on Admission
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£48,020,782 |
Number of Warrants
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33,307,275 |
Percentage of share capital represented by Warrants (assuming all Warrants are exercised immediately following Admission and that subsequently the Company's share capital is made up of the Enlarged Share Capital and the Ordinary Shares resulting from the exercise of the Warrants only)
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3.35% |
Number of Vested Options
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69,584,356 |
Percentage of share capital represented by Vested Options (assuming all Vested Options are exercised immediately following Admission and that subsequently the Company's share capital is made up of the Enlarged Share Capital and the Ordinary Shares resulting from the exercise of the Vested Options only)
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6.76% |
Number of New Options and NED Options
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93,640,525 |
Percentage of share capital represented by New Options and NED Options (assuming all New Options and NED Options are exercised immediately following Admission and that subsequently the Company's share capital is made up of the Enlarged Share Capital and the Ordinary Shares resulting from the exercise of the New Options and NED Options only)
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8.88% |
Percentage of share capital represented by Warrants and Options (assuming all Warrants and Options are exercised immediately following Admission and that subsequently the Company's share capital is made up of the Enlarged Share Capital and the Ordinary Shares resulting from the exercise of the Warrants and the Options only)
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16.99% |
Availability of the Prospectus
The prospectus has been approved by the FCA, as competent authority under Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of retained direct EU legislation (as defined in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended). The Prospectus is available for inspection at www.fca.org.uk/markets/primary-markets/regulatory-disclosures/national-storage-mechanism.
Copies of the Prospectus may be inspected on the webpage https://oxcantech.com/userfiles/files/prospectus.pdf and at the offices of Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP, 125 Wood Street, London EC2V 7AW during normal business hours on any weekday (Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays excepted) from the date of this Document until a date one month following Admission.
For more information:
The Company |
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Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies Holdings Plc |
Dr John Lucas |
+44 (0)7956 873125
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The Financial Adviser |
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Cairn Financial Advisers LLP |
Emily Staples or Jo Turner |
+44 (0)20 7213 0897 or +44 (0)20 7213 0885 |
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The Corporate Adviser |
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States Bridge Capital Ltd |
Damion Carruel |
+44 (0)7775516745 |
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The PR Adviser |
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Acuitas Communications |
Simon Nayyar or James Gittings |
44 (0)20 3848 2815 or +44 (0)20 3848 2812 |