11 Dec 2018 07:05
Amphion Innovations plc
("Amphion" or "the Company")
Further investment in Polarean Imaging plc and Repayment of Loan Facility
London and New York, 11 December 2018 - Amphion Innovations plc (AIM: AMP), the developer of medical, life science, and technology businesses, notes that its partner company Polarean Imaging plc ("Polarean") has announced a conditional fundraise of US$4.0 million (£3.125 million) (before expenses) by the issue of, in aggregate, 22,321,429 ordinary shares of £0.00037 each in the capital of the company with new and existing investors at a price of 14p per share ("the Placing"). The Placing is conditional on admission of the new Polarean shares to trading on AIM ("Admission") which is expected to occur on or around 28 December 2018. Amphion has participated in the Placing and following Admission, will remain the largest shareholder, holding approximately 18.4 million shares, equivalent to 18.2% of the enlarged Share Capital of Polarean.
In addition to the investment in Polarean, Amphion has made a payment of US $304,377 to reduce the loan balance under the facility announced on 5 June 2014 (the "Facility"). After the payment, the loan balance will be US$3,984,256 As announced in the Company's announcement dated 16 October 2018, the Company has committed to maintain a certain value of the pledged Motif Bio plc shares compared to the outstanding balance of the Facility and this payment was made pursuant to those terms. In the future, should the value of the pledged shares not meet the terms, the Board may be required to make additional payments or renegotiate the Facility. It is the Board's intention to make any repayments in cash. The loan balance plus accrued interest will be due on 30 September 2019.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.
For further information please contact:
Amphion Innovations | Tel: +1 (212) 210 6224 | ||
Charlie Morgan | |||
Panmure Gordon Limited (Nominated Adviser and Corporate Broker) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7886 2500 | ||
Emma Earl / Freddy Crossley (Corporate Finance) | |||
Charlie Leigh-Pemberton (Corporate Broking) | |||
Northland Capital Partners Limited (Joint Corporate Broker) | Tel: +44 (0)20 3861 6625 | ||
David Hignell (Corporate Finance) | |||
Rob Rees (Corporate Broking) | |||
Walbrook PR | Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780 or amphion@walbrookpr.com | ||
Anna Dunphy / Paul McManus | Mob: +44 (0)7879 741 001 / +44 (0)7980 541 893 | ||
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About Amphion Innovations plc - www.amphionplc.com
Amphion Innovations is a developer of medical, life science and technology businesses. We use our extensive experience in company building to invest and build shareholder value in high growth companies in the US and UK. Amphion has significant shareholding in a small number of Partner Companies developing proven technologies targeting substantial commercial marketplaces. The Amphion model has been refined to optimise the commercialisation of patents and other intellectual property within the Partner Companies.
About Polarean Imaging plc - http://polarean.com
Polarean is a medical drug-device combination company operating in the high resolution medical imaging market. The Group develops equipment that enables existing MRI systems to achieve an improved level of pulmonary function imaging and specialises in the use of hyperpolarised Xenon gas (129Xe) as an imaging agent to visualise ventilation and gas exchange regionally in the smallest airways of the lungs, the tissue barrier between the lung and the bloodstream and in the pulmonary vasculature. Xenon gas exhibits solubility and signal properties that enable it to be imaged within other tissues and organs.
Polarean operates in an area of significant unmet medical need and the Group's technology provides a novel diagnostic approach, offering a non-invasive and radiation-free functional imaging platform which is more accurate and less harmful to the patient than current methods. The annual burden of pulmonary disease in the US is estimated to be over US$150 billion and affecting hundreds of millions of people globally, including c. 174 million people who suffer chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is responsible for 6% of all deaths worldwide each year.
The Group expects to achieve a number of key milestones following Admission. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Group's Phase III trial design for testing the Group's drug-device combination, so the most important near-term milestone will be the successful completion of the FDA Phase III clinical trial in the US. The trial is expected to commence early in the second quarter of 2018 and to last for approximately 18 months, which includes the time required to prepare the New Drug Application for submission to the FDA.
Polarean also develops and manufactures high performance MRI radiofrequency (RF) coils which are a required component for imaging 129Xe in the MRI system. The development of these coils by the Company facilitates the adoption of the Xenon technology by providing application-specific RF coils which optimise the imaging of 129Xe in MRI equipment for use as a medical diagnostic as well as a method of monitoring the efficacy of therapeutic intervention.