Wire flash
FinanceScancell raises £15.7m from UK investors, retail demand far exceeds target
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Source reporting is collected, normalized, translated or condensed automatically when needed.
- Automatically published source-backed update
Scancell Holdings PLC, a UK-based cancer immunotherapy developer, announced it raised £15.7 million from UK investors, exceeding its original £2.3 million retail target due to high demand. The retail offer raised £2.7 million, with allocations scaled back and preference given to existing shareholders. The funds are part of a broader $89 million financing package to support Scancell's merger with US biotech Neuphoria Therapeutics, creating a dual-listed group 85.5% owned by Scancell shareholders. The merger includes a $39.1 million private placement, a UK placing, and up to $25 million in debt financing from BlackRock. Proceeds will fund a global phase III trial of lead immunotherapy iSCIB1+ for advanced melanoma, which has FDA fast-track designation. Mid-stage data showed 77% progression-free survival at 22 months. The financing is expected to extend cash runway into 2029.
Source report
Source: Proactive
Scancell Holdings PLC (AIM:SCLP, OTC:SCNLF, FRA:SCP) has confirmed that the UK portion of its equity funding has raised gross proceeds of £15.7 million, following strong retail demand that prompted the cancer immunotherapy developer to increase the size of its retail offer.
- The retail offer raised £2.7 million, exceeding the original £2.3 million target.
- Allocations were scaled back due to demand, with preference given to existing shareholders.
The fundraising comes as Scancell executes a transformative deal to merge with US biotech Neuphoria Therapeutics. The Oxford-based immunotherapy developer will create a dual-listed group, 85.5% owned by Scancell shareholders.
As part of the deal announced last Thursday, Scancell stated it planned to raise up to $89 million through a mix of equity and debt to fund a global registrational phase III trial of its lead treatment in advanced melanoma.
Commitments have been secured from new and existing shareholders for:
- A private placement of $39.1 million (£29.2 million)
- A UK placing and retail offer, with new shares priced at 9p each
Scancell has also signed a non-binding term sheet with funds managed by BlackRock for debt financing of up to $25 million.
Completion of the merger is expected to bring at least a further $10 million into the enlarged group from Neuphoria's own cash balances.
Lead Asset: iSCIB1+
The new company's lead asset, iSCIB1+, is an off-the-shelf immunotherapy designed to prompt the patient's own immune system to attack tumour cells. It has received fast-track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration, a status intended to speed the review of treatments addressing serious conditions.
Data from the mid-stage SCOPE study showed 77% progression-free survival at 22 months when the treatment was combined with the established checkpoint drugs ipilimumab and nivolumab. Further progression-free and overall survival data from that study are expected within the next 12 months.
Financial Outlook
The financing is intended to carry the phase III trial through to its primary readout in the second half of 2028 and to extend the group's cash runway into 2029.
Source
Yahoo FinanceWestern
Part of this Story
Scancell raises £15.7m from UK investors amid strong retail demand for merger funding