15 Jan 2019 15:45
15 January 2019
FastForward Innovations Ltd
("FastForward" or the "Company")
Juvenescence Limited completes first tranche of Series B Funding
Secures investment of US$46 million
The Board of AIM-traded FastForward Innovations Limited, trading under the symbol FFWD, ("FastForward", the "Company" or "FFWD"), is pleased to announce that investee company Juvenescence Limited ("Juvenescence") has completed the first tranche of its planned US$100-125 million funding round.
In aggregate Juvenescence has closed on subscriptions from new and existing investors to raise US$46 million at a price of US$24.70 per share. The price of the Series B funding round values Juvenescence at a price of US$400 million and is at a 58 per cent. premium to the price at which the Company invested in the Juvenescence Series A funding round in June 2018 (see 19 June 2018 announcement). At the price per share of the Series B funding round, the Company's holding of 128,205 shares of Juvenescence have an implied value of approximately US$3.2 million, representing an increase of approximately US$1.2 million from the Company's Series A investment.
Commenting on the close of the Series B funding round Lorne Abony, FastForward's Chief Executive Officer, noted:
"We are delighted with the progress Juvenescence is making with the pipeline of drugs, therapies and technologies they are developing. Having spent time with the company's management in the past few weeks in San Francisco I share their optimism in relation to near-term potential of the company. The successful initial public offer of Age-X Therapeutics Inc. (NYSE:AGE), in which Juvenescence has a 46% interest, is a great example of the expertise Juvenescence brings to drug development companies. The reaction of the investor community to the AgeX listing demonstrates the potential for the longevity industry, in North America and, we hope, in Europe. We look forward to updating shareholders in due course with further positive news from the Juvenescence portfolio of assets."
About Juvenescence
Juvenescence Limited is a biotech company focused on therapies to increase healthy human longevity. It was founded in 2017 by Jim Mellon, Dr. Greg Bailey, Dr. Declan Doogan, Anthony Chow, and Alexander Pickett. The Juvenescence team are highly experienced drug developers, and serial entrepreneurs with a track record of success in life sciences and drug development. Juvenescence is focused on developing therapeutics that alter ageing or age-related diseases. Juvenescence believes that recent advances in science have greatly improved our understanding of the biology of ageing and creates the opportunity to develop therapeutics now that can slow, halt or potentially reverse elements of ageing.
The Juvenescence founders and management team have an extensive track record of successfully developing drugs for a range of diseases. Further details regarding Juvenescence are available at its website www.juvenescence.ltd
General
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 596/2014.
For further information on the Company and its investments please visit www.fstfwd.co or contact:
FastForward Innovations Limited info@fstfwd.co Ian Burns
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Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nomad) +44 (0) 207 628 3396 James Biddle/ Roland Cornish
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Optiva Securities Limited (Broker) +44 (0) 203 411 1881 Graham Dickson |
For further information please visit www.fstfwd.co or contact:
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
The AIM Market of London Stock Exchange plc does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential values, the future plans and objectives of Fast Forward Innovations Ltd. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, achievable or recognisable in the near term.
Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Fast Forward Innovations assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.