Cambridge (UK) and Indianapolis (US) – Acacia Pharma (EURONEXT: ACPH), a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel products to improve the care of patients undergoing serious medical treatments such as surgery, invasive procedures, or chemotherapy, announces the successful completion of the placing announced yesterday. The placing will raise gross proceeds of approximately €25,000,000.
Acacia Pharma intends to use the net proceeds of the placing to:
- recruit an initial sales force of approximately 30, with an additional ten support staff;
- pay marketing costs relating to BARHEMSYS® and BYFAVO™ including brand development and engagement (both virtually and, where possible, in person) with key opinion leaders, healthcare professionals, and medical conference and speaker programmes;
- implement post-approval research and development commitments including paediatric studies for BARHEMSYS® and BYFAVO™ and a renal study for BARHEMSYS®;
- satisfy interest and capital payments under existing loan agreements; and
- general corporate purposes relating to ongoing commercial activities as well as supplementing existing stock of both BARHEMSYS® and BYFAVO™.
Mike Bolinder, CEO of Acacia Pharma, commented:
“The company has made exciting progress during 2020, with the approval of two products that we are preparing to commercialize in the US. BARHEMSYS® and BYFAVO™ are both targeted at anaesthesiologists and are designed to improve the rate at which patients recover from surgery or invasive procedures, reduce the incidence of secondary complications and hospital readmittances and improve healthcare economics through better patient throughput. These are important objectives given the many millions of patients that undergo such procedures in the US and the backlog in hospitals that has resulted from the coronavirus pandemic. This situation, which is compounded by a national shortage of existing drugs for postoperative nausea and vomiting and procedural sedation, presents a significant market opportunity for Acacia Pharma’s products.”
Jefferies International Limited and Guggenheim Securities, LLC are acting as Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners and Bank Degroof Petercam SA/NV is acting as Joint Bookrunner and Listing Agent in connection with the placing.
About Acacia Pharma
Acacia Pharma is a hospital pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new products aimed at improving the care of patients undergoing significant treatments such as surgery, other invasive procedures, or cancer chemotherapy. The Company has identified important and commercially attractive unmet needs in these areas that its product portfolio aims to address.
Acacia Pharma’s first product, BARHEMSYS® (amisulpride injection) for postoperative nausea & vomiting (PONV), has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, with US launch planned for 2H 2020. BYFAVO™ (remimazolam) for injection, a rapid onset/offset IV benzodiazepine sedative is approved in the US for use during invasive medical procedures in adults lasting 30 minutes or less, such as colonoscopy and bronchoscopy. Acacia Pharma’s rights to further develop and commercialize BYFAVO™ are in-licensed from Paion UK Limited for the US market, and US launch is planned for 2H 2020.
APD403 (intravenous and oral amisulpride), a selective dopamine antagonist for chemotherapy induced nausea & vomiting (CINV) has successfully completed one proof-of-concept and one Phase 2 dose-ranging study in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy. Acacia Pharma is based in Cambridge, UK and its US operations are centred in Indianapolis, IN. The Company is listed on the Euronext Brussels exchange under the ISIN code GB00BYWF9Y76 and ticker symbol ACPH. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.acaciapharma.com
About Gilde Healthcare
Gilde Healthcare is a specialized healthcare investor managing over €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) across two fund strategies: venture & growth capital and private equity. Gilde Healthcare’s venture & growth capital fund invests in fast growing companies active in digital health, medtech and therapeutics. The venture & growth companies are based in Europe and North America. Gilde Healthcare’s private equity fund invests in profitable European lower mid-market healthcare companies with a focus on the Benelux and DACH region. The private equity fund targets healthcare providers, suppliers of medical products and service providers in the healthcare market. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.gildehealthcare.com.