(Alliance News) - Antibiotics developer Summit Therapeutics PLC on Friday announced plans to raise significant cash, switch up the board, and de-list from London's AIM market.
Summit, which has offices in Oxford and Cambridge in the UK as well as in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has also warned existing cash will keep it going to the end of January, with the fundraise enough for another year. If it is not approved, Summit's future would be in doubt.
This comes as Summit continues with patient enrolment onto a phase three clinical trial for ridinilazole, with preparations for commercialisation to come if it is approved.
Summit will raise USD50 million by both a subscription and a placing. Existing shareholder Robert Duggan is taking a further 166.2 million new shares at 22.1 pence each, meaning he will hold a 73% interest in Summit. Shares were 9.6% lower Friday afternoon in London at 20.11p.
Duggan is the former chief executive of Pharmacyclics, which was bought for USD21 billion by US pharmaceutical giant AbbVie Inc in 2015. He took an initial 49% of Summit a year ago for USD25 million.
The company will also placing 9.2 million shares at the same price, which will be taken up by an unnamed existing institutional shareholder and Chief Executive Glyn Edwards.
One of the conditions of the fundraising is that Summit is delisted from AIM, given the increasing focus it has in the US. It will remain listed in New York.
Summit will also be changing up the board. Conditional on the funding being secured, Duggan, Manmeet Soni, Elaine Stracker, and Ventzislav Stefanov will be appointed non-executive directors.
Existing Non-Executive Chair Frank Armstrong and Non-Executive Directors Leopoldo Zambeletti and David Wurzer will step down. The only board member staying is CEO Edwards, who will also become chair.
Edwards commented: "Patients need new and better antibiotics. Innovation is required to develop distinctive new drugs that address the resistance crisis without damaging our healthy microbiomes.
"Summit sees a huge opportunity in the antibiotic space for precision drugs targeting specific bacteria. We have great technology and people at Summit to bring forward potent antibiotics with the potential to deliver better outcomes for patients and healthcare systems."
"It is great that Bob Duggan is leading this much-needed investment into Summit that will support progression of our ambitious plans, including developing ridinilazole, our precision antibiotic for the treatment of C difficile infection," Edwards continued.
"We have the opportunity to show that ridinilazole is superior to vancomycin in sustained cures of C difficile infection, is able to preserve the microbiome of patients and offers substantial benefits to payers by reducing costly recurrences."
Summit will seek approval for the fundraise at a general meeting to be held in London on December 23.
By George Collard; georgecollard@alliancenews.com
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