Last checked at 1 Mar 2016 10:00
Onzima Ventures PLC
("Onzima" or the "Company")
Investment in N4 Pharma Limited
The Company is pleased to announce it has acquired 49% of N4 Pharma Limited ("N4 Pharma") paying £41,000 in cash and issuing 24,272,807 new ordinary shares in Onzima ("Consideration Shares") which are locked in for 2 years.
In addition, the Company has agreed to provide a loan facility of £209,000 to N4 Pharma for the development of its business. Funds drawn down under the facility will incur a coupon of 5% per annum, with interest rolled up and, together with any drawn down funds, being repayable in 4 years unless repaid earlier at the mutual agreement of both parties.
N4 Pharma is currently a private company that develops new versions of existing widely used drugs to provide an improved patient experience by reformulating them using their patent protected technology platforms Cocrys® and Nuvac®. Their lead product is a novel patentable 'faster acting' version of Viagra which it is currently seeking to out-license to a large pharma co-development partner.
N4 Pharma was founded by Nigel Theobald, a successful healthcare entrepreneur with over 25 years' experience in the healthcare and biotech industry. Nigel previously worked in senior positions at Alliance Boots and is former CEO of Oxford Pharmascience Group Plc (AIM:OXP). He has a strong track record in developing intellectual property into commercial viable opportunities.
Nigel Theobald commented "The funds will allow us to accelerate the formulation work for our novel sildenafil co-crystals (sildenafil is the generic drug name for Viagra) and undertake the initial proof of concept studies for our faster acting positioning. The erectile dysfunction market is worth over $4bn. Viagra came off patent in Europe in 2013 and is still the most widely used drug for erectile dysfunction despite it taking an hour before it starts to work. A faster acting version of Viagra will be a key new player in this attractive market. We also aim to expand our product portfolio and reformulate a wide range of drugs either already off patent or coming off patent soon, each of which having an equally attractive commercial opportunity. We look forward to having regular newsflow for Onzima and its investors."
Admission and dealings
The Consideration Shares are being issued to Nigel Theobald and will represent 14.9% of the enlarged issued share capital. Application will be made for admission of the Consideration Shares, which will rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's existing issued ordinary shares, to trading on AIM and it is expected that admission will occur and that dealings will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 7 March 2016.
For the purposes of the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules, the Company announces that following the issue of the Consideration Shares, the Company will have 162,904,743 Ordinary Shares in issue ("Enlarged Share Capital").
The Company has no ordinary shares held in treasury. The total number of voting rights in the Company will therefore be 162,904,743. This figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
For further information please contact:
Onzima Ventures PLC Tel: +44 (0) 1622 717700
Gavin Burnell, Luke Cairns
Nominated Adviser
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP Tel: +44 (0) 20 7148 7900
Sandy Jamieson, Liam Murray
Broker
Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7469 0930
Guy Miller, Lucy Williams