HemoGenyx Pharmaceuticals (LSE:HEMO) shares traded 30% higher in Monday morning’s deals after investment firm Prevail Partners bought a stake at a significant premium to the market price.
Prevail paid 7.5 US cents per share in a US$830,000 investment, equating to around 6p per share.
In London, Hemogenyx shares traded up to 2.21p in early deals.
At the same time, Hemogenyx has entered a master service and technology agreement with a Prevail Partners associated company, Prevail InfoWorks, which is a contract research organization.
Prevail InfoWorks will provide clinical services and technologies for an upcoming Hemogenyx clinical study – a Phase I study of its ‘anti-FLT3 chimeric antigen receptor-redirected T cells in subjects with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia’.
The subscription funds will “in large part defray the payment made by the Hemogenyx for the first stage of the work being undertaken by InfoWorks”, the company noted.
Hemogenyx chief executive Vladislav Sandler, in a statement, highlighted that the arrangement with Prevail is expected to “potentially speed up the regulatory timeline”.
“Prevail Partners' strategic investment in the company demonstrates their confidence in our CAR-T program and in our ability to execute the upcoming clinical study,” he added.
Prevail Partners president Mary Schaheen, meanwhile, added: “Everyone at our fund is confident in the growth and success of HemoGenyx Pharmaceuticals (LSE:HEMO) as they develop CAR-T cells to target acute myeloid leukemia.
“Furthermore, HemoGenyx Pharmaceuticals (LSE:HEMO) has a seasoned management team with the expertise to accelerate the company to a significant value inflection point through the completion of its planned clinical trial."
In London, Hemogenyx shares rose by 0.57p or 30.54% in early deals to change hands at 2.42p each.