Amryt Pharma secures €20m loan from European Investment Bank

(ShareCast News) - AIM-listed Amryt Pharma has secured a €20m loan from the European Investment Bank to secure its near and mid-term funding for its gel product and a development for a drug compound compound.The loan secures funding for its product Episalvan, which treats skin disorder Epidermolysis Bullosa, and provides capital to progress with the pre-clinical development of an orphan designated acromegaly drug compound, AP 102.The five-year loan's repayment schedule is expected to present a minimal cash burden to the company, as it is split into three tranches, with €10m available immediately and two further tranches of €5m available on reaching of certain milestones in relation to Episalvan.It has 3% interest rate over the Euro Interbank offered rate to be paid periodically, with a further 10% accruing and payable together with the outstanding amount after five years.A phase three clinical trial Epidermolysis Bullosa is expected to start in the first quarter of 2017, with data anticipated to be available in mid-2018 and a commercial launch in 2019.The company recently secured a US patent for Episalvan after it obtained a patent in Europe for the treatment of all partial thickness wounds, including those from Epidermolysis Bullosa, which has a market in the US and Europe to be worth about $1.5bn a year.Andrew McDowell, vice president at European Investment Bank, said: "Continued investment in innovation is crucial to improve lives and build on European strengths to develop world-leading pharmaceutical products. The European Investment Bank is pleased to support innovation and development of new treatment of painful skin disorders by Amryt Pharma."This represents the EIB's first-ever direct support for investment by an Irish pharma company and I am pleased to confirm the EIB's intention to increase support for private sector innovation in Ireland in the years ahead."Chief executive Joe Wiley said that there is currently, there is no available treatment for Epidermolysis Bullosa and he believes that Episalvan has a compelling clinical profile.Sufferers of Epidermolysis Bullosa currently have no treatment options - there are 7,000 known rare diseases but only about 550 orphan drugs have been approved to date.