11th Apr 2019 16:35
LONDON (Alliance News) - Woodford Patient Capital Trust PLC on Thursday said one of its portfolio companies has entered a securities purchase agreement to raise as much as USD80 million through a private placing.
Evofem Biosciences is within both the Woodford Patient and LF Woodford Equity Income Fund portfolios and has structured the deal in two tranches, one of which has secured USD30 million of funding from NASDAQ-listed intellectual property firm PDL BioPharma Inc.
The second USD50 million tranche will come from existing investors and will include a USD30 million option from PDL BioPharma.
Woodford Patient said Evofem will use the money to "maximise the opportunity" for its Amphora contraceptive gel. If the gel is approved, it will become "the first hormone-free, woman-controlled birth control method".
In December, Evofem announced that its phase three clinical trial of Amphora had met its primary endpoints. Evofem will submit a new drug application for Amphora in the US in the second quarter of 2019.
Should Amphora be approved, it is expected to be commercialised as a first-in-class birth control treatment in 2020.
Shares in Woodford Patient closed down 0.4% at 81.90 pence on Thursday.
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