SHELTON, CONNECTICUT -- Tuesday, May 26, 2020 -- NanoViricides, Inc. (NYSE Amer.: NNVC) (the "Company"), a leader in the development of highly effective antiviral therapies based on a novel nanomedicines platform, announced today that it has raised $10.22 Million in gross proceeds from the sale of 1.4 million shares of common stock, and no warrants, at a price of $7.30 per share, in a previously announced registered direct offering (the "Offering").
Maxim Group LLC and Kingswood Capital Markets, a division of Benchmark Investments, Inc. acted as co-Placement Agents in connection with the Offering. The co-Placement Agents were paid a total cash fee of 8% of the gross proceeds, plus $75,000 for reimbursement of legal fees.
The net proceeds to the Company were approximately $9.327 Million, after deducting placement agent fees and other costs. The purchase price reflects a discount of 19.7% to the closing price of $9.09 on May 21st, 2020, when the Securities Purchase Agreement was entered into. The Offering closed on May 22, 2020.
"We have substantially improved our balance sheet with this Offering," said Meeta R. Vyas, CFO, adding, "The proceeds provide us with an additional runway of over a year at our current rate of expenditures." The Company intends to use the net proceeds of approximately $9.327 Million, after deducting placement agent fees and other costs towards general business purposes. The purchase price reflects a discount of 19.7% to the closing price of $9.09 on May 21st, 2020, when the Securities Purchase Agreement was entered into. The Offering closed on May 22, 2020.
"This infusion of funds will help us accelerate our drug development to cure the SARS-CoV-2 infection that is causing the global COVID-19 disease pandemic," said Anil R. Diwan, PhD, President and Executive Chairman of the Board, adding, "The funds will also enable us to further advance our first drug candidate for Shingles through initial human clinical trials, and further advance additional HerpeCide™ program candidates against HSV-1 that causes cold sores, and HSV-2 that causes genital ulcers, towards clinical candidate selection."
The Company has recently announced (on May 12th) that its nanoviricides coronavirus drug candidates were highly effective against certain human coronaviruses, namely hCoV-NL63 and hCoV-229E, in cell culture studies, indicating broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus effectiveness. The Company has also announced on May 20th that these drug candidates were highly effective in combatting lethal lung infection by hCoV-NL63 in a rat animal model study. HCoV-NL63 uses the same ACE2 receptor as the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing the pandemic, and also exhibits similar disease pathology in human infections, albeit causing a much milder disease. HCoV-NL63 can be used in a BSL2 lab whereas SARS-CoV-2 currently requires BSL3/BSL4 labs. Therefore, the Company believes hCoV-NL63 serves as a useful model for drug development against SARS-CoV-2.
The Company believes that these results are significant and indicate that a clinical nanoviricide drug candidate, once selected, would be worthy of human clinical trials for curing SARS-CoV-2 infection that causes the COVID-19 spectrum of diseases. NanoViricides is one of a few biopharma companies with its own cGMP-capable drug manufacturing facility. The Company believes it will be able to manufacture thousands of doses in a short period of time at this facility.
Maxim Group LLC and Kingswood Capital Markets, a division of Benchmark Investments, Inc. acted as co-Placement Agents in connection with the Offering. The co-Placement Agents were paid a total cash fee of 8% of the gross proceeds, plus $75,000 for reimbursement of legal fees.
The Shares were issued pursuant to a prospectus supplement dated May 21, 2020 which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on May 22, 2020 in connection with a takedown from the Company's shelf registration statement on Form S-3, as amended (File No. 333-237370), which became effective on April 2, 2020 and the base prospectus dated April 2, 2020 contained in that registration statement.
A Current Report on Form 8-K was filed on May 22, 2020 with the SEC. The description of the Offering contained herein is qualified in its entirety by reference to this Current Report and attached Exhibits thereto.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor will there be any sales of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.