Placing to raise £718,500

RNS Number : 7284O

Sareum Holdings PLC

02 June 2020

 

(AIM: SAR)

2 June 2020

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014

Sareum Holdings plc

("Sareum" or "the Company")

Placing to raise £718,500 to progress proprietary TYK2/JAK1 programmes
in preclinical development

Sareum Holdings plc (AIM: SAR), the specialist drug development company delivering targeted small molecule therapeutics to improve the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, announces that it has raised £718,500, before expenses, through a placement by Hybridan LLP of 119,750,000 new ordinary shares of 0.025p each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares") (the "Placing Shares") at 0.6p per share (the "Placing").

The net proceeds from the Placing, together with approximately £980k of existing cash (as at 31 March 2020) and an estimated R&D tax credit of £150k expected to be received in January 2021, will be used to progress the Company's TYK2/JAK1 drug development programmes as well as for working capital purposes. The Company is targeting the completion of at least one of its TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor preclinical studies in Q4 2020, subject to successful progress. Clinical trial plans, including priority indications for both compounds, will also be developed in parallel.

The net proceeds from the Placing, together with any grants awarded to Sareum, will also help the Company explore the potential benefit of our TYK2/JAK1 inhibitors against Covid-19.

In the next 12 months, the Company estimates an R&D investment of approximately £800k and non-R&D salaries and overheads of approximately £570k, based on 33% of Director's salaries continuing to be deferred as announced in December 2019. Additionally, as announced on 26 March 2020, the Company has the potential to receive a success-based milestone payment of approximately £900k by the end of 2020 from the licensee of Sareum's FLT3+Aurora kinase inhibitor programme.

Application will be made for the Placing Shares, which will rank pari passu with the Company's existing Ordinary Shares, to be admitted to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange ("AIM") ("Admission"). It is anticipated that Admission will become effective at 8.00 am on 10 June 2020. The Placing is subject to normal conditions including, inter alia, Admission.

The Company will imminently issue a further announcement concerning an opportunity for retail investors to participate on the same terms via the PrimaryBid platform (the "Offer"), with any new Ordinary Shares issued pursuant to the Offer being admitted to trading on AIM simultaneously with Admission of the Placing Shares. Accordingly, the Company will provide an update on the total number of Ordinary Shares that will be in issue following completion of the Placing and the Offer.

Dr Tim Mitchell, CEO of Sareum Holdings plc, said: "We are delighted with the response to the Placing from both new and existing shareholders and, through the PrimaryBid Offer, we are pleased to once more provide the opportunity for retail investors to participate in the fundraise and thank them for their ongoing support over the years in Sareum.

"The Placing will enable us to continue advancing our lead internal TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor programmes - SDC-1801 and SDC-1802 - through preclinical studies.  We are targeting the completion of at least one preclinical study in Q4 2020 and are developing our plans for the initial clinical trials with both compounds.

"These funds, together with any grants awarded to Sareum, will also help us explore the potential benefit of our TYK2/JAK1 inhibitors against Covid-19.

"In parallel, we continue to engage with interested parties regarding the further development and potential commercialisation of SDC-1801 and SDC-1802.

"We look forward to keep investors informed on our progress and to providing further updates during the year."

For further information, please contact: 

Sareum Holdings plc

Tim Mitchell, CEO    01223 497 700

Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser)

James Dance / Richard Tulloch    020 7409 3494

Hybridan LLP (Nominated Broker)

Claire Noyce / John Beresford-Peirse  020 3764 2341

Citigate Dewe Rogerson (Financial PR)

Mark Swallow/ David Dible    020 7638 9571

About Sareum

Sareum is a specialist drug development company delivering targeted small molecule therapeutics to improve the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The Company aims to generate value through licensing its candidates to international pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies at the preclinical or early clinical trials stage.

Sareum is advancing internal programmes focused on distinct dual tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) / Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) inhibitors through preclinical development as therapies for autoimmune diseases, including the "cytokine storm" immune system overreaction to Covid-19 and other viral infections, (SDC-1801) and cancer immunotherapy (SDC-1802). The Company is targeting completion of preclinical development for each molecule in 2020.

The Company's preclinical FLT3+Aurora inhibitor programme targeting haematological cancers is licensed to a China-based specialty pharma company.

Sareum also has an economic interest in SRA737, a clinical-stage oral, selective Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) inhibitor that targets cancer cell replication and DNA damage repair mechanisms. Preliminary data suggest SRA737 may have broad application in combination with other oncology and immune-oncology drugs in genetically defined patients.

SRA737 was discovered and initially developed by scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research in collaboration with Sareum, and with funding from Sareum and Cancer Research UK. SRA737 was licensed by CRT Pioneer Fund (CPF) to Sierra Oncology Inc., which is currently seeking to on-license SRA737 to a third party for further development.

Sareum Holdings plc is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, trading under the ticker SAR. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.sareum.com.

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