Cyxone enters development agreement with inventor Kalev Kask
Cyxone (publ), a Swedish biotech in autoimmune diseases, announces today that the company has signed an agreement with inventor Dr Kalev Kask. The purpose of the agreement is to initiate a drug development collaboration for the treatment of the symptoms of Covid-19, for which a patent application will be filed.
Dr Kalev Kask, a biotech executive and entrepreneur with extensive expertise in drug development, and Cyxone have entered a collaboration to develop a new program for treating patients suffering from symptoms of Covid-19. Cyxone finds the collaboration regarding new therapeutic applications attractive from a business development perspective. According to the agreement, Cyxone will own all future intellectual property rights and assume the costs for the development work.
Dr Kask has the right to request that Cyxone conducts a private placement of shares to him or to an investor designated by him corresponding to not more than 4,908,028 shares, equal to ten percent of Cyxone’s outstanding shares. Kalev Kask has the right to call upon the private placement no later than 1 October 2020, where after the right ceases. The subscription price shall as a starting point be SEK 4.45, corresponding to the volume weighted average price for Cyxone’s share during a period before the entering of the investment option agreement, meaning that Cyxone will raise not more than SEK 21,840,724.60 if the private placement is conducted. The final determination of the subscription price is however dependent upon Cyxone’s board of directors making an assessment as to whether the subscription price is based on market conditions at the time of the private placement. In order for the private placement to be conducted a general meeting of Cyxone must resolve on the private placement or resolve to authorize the board of directors to resolve on the private placement. The private placement is conditioned upon not being in violation of any U.S. law as it may be subject to specific requirements depending on who subscribes for shares.
Furthermore, Kalev Kask will receive royalties of the net revenue generated through the use of a potentially approved patent, and if the product will reach the market. The value of the development agreement cannot be estimated because it is dependent on whether the patent filing is approved and to what degree the patented drug candidate is useful, which is still unclear.
CEO Tara Heitner comments “We are very pleased to be able to enter this agreement which represents additional innovation achievements for the company, and which will allow Cyxone to extend our therapeutic reach including Covid-19. The underlying science supporting the development of this drug program for Covid-19 was very compelling as it indicates it can be beneficial for patients infected with dangerous viruses such as Covid-19 and for patients who have developed respiratory problems caused by infections of the lungs, should it prove to be effective.”
Dr Kalev Kask comments: “I see great potential in entering this collaboration developing a new program on the potential treatment for serious disease syndromes following a Covid-19 infection. It will be very exciting to work together with Cyxone in this joint development work.”
Contact
Tara Heitner, CEO
Tel: +46 70 781 88 08
Email: tara.heitner@cyxone.com
Adelgatan 21
211 22 Malmö, Sweden
This contains such information that Cyxone AB is required to make public under the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation. The information was provided under the auspices of the above contact person for publication on 10 June 2020 at 15.30 CET.
About Cyxone
Cyxone AB is a clinical stage biotech company with a portfolio of immunomodulating drugs for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The company’s drug portfolio is based on two technological pillars in the form of oral molecules and cyclotide-based drugs that inhibit key processes in the body’s cells that are typically associated with various immune-related disorders. Cyxone’s technologies have the potential to address an unmet need and provide new effective and safe medicines that can improve the quality of life for patients affected by autoimmune diseases. The company has two drug candidates, T20K for MS in clinical phase I program and Rabeximod for RA in clinical phase II program. Cyxone’s Certified Adviser on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market is Mangold Fondkommission AB, +46 (0)8-503 015 50, ca@mangold.se. www.cyxone.com
About Dr Kask
Dr Kalev Kask is a biotech executive and entrepreneur with an extensive global expertise in drug development. Dr Kask has played a pivotal role in bringing several products in multiple therapeutic areas successfully to the market.
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