BIOPHARMA CREDIT PLC
("BIOPHARMA CREDIT" OR THE "COMPANY")
NEW ACQUISITION
BioPharma Credit PLC (LSE: BPCR), a specialist life sciences debt investor, is pleased to announce that today, it and BioPharma Credit Investments IV, S.àr.L. ("BioPharma-IV"), a private fund also investing in life sciences debt managed by Pharmakon Advisors launched in December 2015, entered into a definitive term loan agreement for up to US$200 million with Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: LXRX), a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company ("Lexicon") with a current market capitalisation of approximately US$1.0 billion.
Lexicon markets XERMELO® (teloristat ethyl) for the treatment of carcinoid syndrome diarrhoea in the United States and has licensed XERMELO® to Ipsen Pharma SA for commercialisation in territories outside of the United States and Japan. Lexicon is also developing sotagliflozin for the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in partnership with Sanofi. Lexicon intends to use the proceeds of the financing to support the commercial efforts of XERMELO, advance sotagliflozin, as well as to execute on the clinical development of other earlier stage product candidates.
"We are pleased to be partnering with Lexicon in this transaction," said Martin Friedman, Managing Member of Pharmakon Advisors. "We are impressed with the Lexicon team and the commercial opportunities for XERMELO and are thrilled to support Lexicon in its ramp up of this product that fills a well-defined unmet patient need."
Pedro Gonzalez de Cosio, CEO of Pharmakon Advisors LP, commented, "We are delighted to announce our second major investment since our IPO and to partner with Lexicon in this transaction. Following the announcement of our investment with Tesaro last month, this provides another opportunity for BioPharma Credit to grow and deploy its cash reserves in loans that we believe will deliver real shareholder value and make a positive difference for patients."
The US$200 million loan will be available in two tranches, each maturing in December 2022 and bearing interest at 9.0% per annum. The first US$150 million is available immediately and an additional tranche of US$50 million is available for draw by March 2019 at Lexicon's option if net XERMELO sales are greater than US$25 million in the preceding quarter. Under the terms of the transaction, the Company will invest up to US$166m (US$124.5m in the first tranche and up to an additional US$41.5m by March 30, 2019) and BioPharma-IV will invest up to US$34m in parallel with the Company acting as collateral agent. The loan is secured by substantially all of Lexicon's assets, including its rights to XERMELO® and sotagliflozin.
XERMELO® is the first and only orally administered therapy for the treatment of carcinoid syndrome diarrhoea in combination with somatostatin analog (SSA) therapy in adults inadequately controlled by SSA therapy. Carcinoid syndrome is a rare and debilitating condition that affects people with metastatic neuroendocrine tumours (mNETs). XERMELO targets the overproduction of serotonin inside mNET cells, providing a new treatment option for patients suffering from carcinoid syndrome diarrhoea. XERMELO® was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February 2017 and by the European Commission in September 2017.
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Link Company Matters Limited
Company Secretary
5 December 2017
Enquiries:
Buchanan
David Rydell/Mark Court/ Jamie Hooper/ Henry Wilson
+44 (0) 20 7466 5000
[email protected]
Notes to Editors:
BioPharma Credit PLC is London's only listed specialist investor in debt from the life sciences industry and joined the LSE on 27th March 2017. The Company seeks to provide long-term shareholder returns, principally in the form of sustainable income distributions from exposure to the life sciences industry. The Company seeks to achieve this objective primarily through investments in debt assets secured by royalties or other cash flows derived from the sales of approved life sciences products.
LEI: 213800AV55PYXAS7SY24
This announcement contains Inside Information as defined under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
