- $5 Million Bridge Round Announced
- $20 Million Secondary Offering Planned
PLANTATION, Fla., March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Viragen, Inc.
(Amex: VRA) today announced that the Company has received approximately
$4.1 million in gross proceeds from a private placement Unit offering to
institutional and accredited investors. The offering is expected to be
completed this week with gross proceeds totaling $5 million. Dawson James
Securities, a healthcare & biotechnology investment banking firm, acted as the
placement agent for this transaction and has also entered into a letter of
intent to underwrite a follow-on firm commitment secondary offering to raise
an additional $20 million.
Viragen intends to use the proceeds raised from this offering to continue
funding its drug research & development plans, regulatory strategies and
proceed with the international marketing of Multiferon(R) in its approved
territories, including its recent approval in Sweden for the first-line
adjuvant treatment of malignant melanoma.
"We expect to complete this $5 million bridge round of financing this
week, and we're working towards a planned secondary offering that should
significantly increase stockholders' equity and provide working capital to
fund our overall growth strategies, including key European marketing plans for
Multiferon(R)," commented Viragen's President & CEO, Charles A. Rice.
The $5 million private placement offering involved 50,000 Units, each
consisting of one share of Series J cumulative convertible preferred stock and
80 warrants to purchase one share each of common stock. The convertible
preferred shares have a dividend of 24% per annum and are convertible into
Viragen common stock at $1.25 per share, a premium of approximately 115% over
today's closing price of $.58 a share. The warrants, which expire five years
from the date of issuance, are exercisable at $1.25 per share. The Units are
priced at $100 per Unit. After fees and expenses, the Company expects to
receive approximately $4.5 million in net proceeds.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to buy any security and shall not constitute an
offer, solicitation or sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which
such offering, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities offered
in the private placement to the investors were not registered under the
Securities Act of 1933 as amended (the "Act"), and may not be offered or sold
in the United States absent registration, or an applicable exemption from
registration, under the Act. Complete terms of this private placement are
available in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
today. The planned $20 million offering will be subject to certain closing
conditions and there can be no assurance that such a transaction will be
successfully completed.
About Viragen, Inc.:
With global operations in the U.S., Scotland and Sweden, Viragen is a
biotechnology company engaged in the research, development, manufacture and
commercialization of pharmaceutical proteins for the treatment of viral
diseases and cancers. Our product portfolio includes: Multiferon(R) (multi-
subtype, natural human alpha interferon) targeting a broad range of infectious
and malignant diseases; and humanized monoclonal antibodies targeting specific
antigens over-expressed on many types of cancers. We are also pioneering the
development of Avian Transgenic Technology, with the renowned Roslin
Institute, as a revolutionary manufacturing platform for the large-scale,
efficient and economical production of human therapeutic proteins and
antibodies.
For more information, please visit: http://www.Viragen.com
Viragen, Inc. Corporate Contact:
Douglas Calder, Director of Communications
Phone: (954) 233-8746; Fax: (954) 233-1414
E-mail: dcalder@viragen.com
The foregoing press announcement contains forward-looking statements that
can be identified by such terminology such as "believes," "expects,"
"potential," "plans," "suggests," "may," "should," "could," "intends," or
similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be
materially different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such statements. In particular, management's
expectations regarding future research, development and/or commercial results
could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties relating to clinical
trials and product development; availability of future financing; unexpected
regulatory delays or government regulation generally; the Company's ability to
obtain or maintain patent and other proprietary intellectual property
protection; and competition in general. Forward-looking statements speak only
as to the date they are made. The Company does not undertake to update
forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after
the date the forward-looking statements are made.
SOURCE Viragen, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.viragen.com
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CONTACT:
Douglas Calder, Director of Communications,
Viragen, +1-954-233-8746, or fax, +1-954-233-1414, or
dcalder@viragen.com
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