RTP-Based Icagen Announces $22M Financing
Icagen, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICGN), a biopharmaceutical company based in Research Triangle Park, NC, recently announced that it has entered into a definitive securities purchase agreement with institutional and other accredited investors, including both new and existing investors, for the private placement of approximately 15.4 million shares of common stock, together with warrants to purchase approximately 5.4 million additional shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.45 per share, for a total purchase price of approximately $1.42 per unit.
The financing will result in gross proceeds to Icagen of approximately $22 million. Principal investors in the financing included Greenway Capital, QVT, Venrock Associates, Alta Partners and an affiliate of Quintiles Transnational Corp. Icagen intends to use the net proceeds from this private placement to fund its research and development programs and otherwise for general corporate purposes. Icagen currently expects the transaction to close on or about February 2, 2007, subject to customary closing conditions.
Icagen, Inc. is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel orally-administered small molecule drugs that modulate ion channel targets. Utilizing its proprietary know-how and integrated scientific and drug development capabilities, Icagen has identified multiple drug candidates that modulate ion channels. The Company’s four most advanced programs are:
senicapoc for sickle cell disease, for which the Company is conducting a Phase III clinical trial;
lead compounds for epilepsy and neuropathic pain, for which the Company is conducting preclinical studies;
a compound for atrial fibrillation, for which the Company’s collaborator Bristol-Myers Squibb Company is conducting preclinical studies; and
lead compounds for dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, for which the Company’s collaborator Astellas Pharma Inc. is conducting preclinical studies, and lead compounds for sleep disorders and/or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which were derived from the collaboration and for which the Company is conducting preclinical studies.
Icagen is also conducting ongoing drug discovery programs focused on new therapeutics for pain disorders, inflammatory disorders and glaucoma.
Icagen presented at the Southeastern BIO Investor Forum in 2002 and 2003.
