Abeona Therapeutics Inc. has closed a $103.5 million public offering, which includes the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase 5.4 million additional shares of common stock at a public offering price of $2.50 per share. In addition, as part of the offering, Abeona sold to Great Point Partners, an existing investor, pre-funded warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 9,017,055 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $2.4999 per pre-funded warrant, which equals the public offering price per share of the common stock less the $0.0001 per share exercise price of each pre-funded warrant.
“We are excited to lead this recapitalization of Abeona,” Great Point Partners Managing Director David Kroin said in a statement. “The company is one of the world leaders in gene therapy technology, developing products using retrovirus, adeno-associated viruses and next generation capsids with potentially improved tropism profiles for a variety of devastating diseases. This funding greatly enhances Abeona’s financial position, and we believe it can now reach its full potential, as other gene therapy companies in which Great Point Partners has invested have been able to do.”
Abeona Therapeutics has granted to affiliates of GPP the right to nominate two board members to Abeona’s board of directors, including a new executive chairman, due to GPP’s considerable investment in the transaction. As a result, Steven H. Rouhandeh will step down as executive chairman and will retain a seat on the board, while Mark J. Alvino and Richard Van Duyne will exit the board. These changes will be effective upon the board’s qualification and election of GPP’s nominees.
Such replacement members will be independent of GPP.
Jefferies LLC and SVB Leerink LLC acted as joint book-running managers and underwriters for the offering.
Abeona Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing gene and cell therapies for serious diseases. The company has headquarters in both Cleveland and New York.
