Redx Pharma PLC said it has conditionally raised £14.1 million by issuing stock at a modest premium to Tuesday’s closing price – funding important clinical work to get to "value inflexion points" next year.
Supported by cornerstone investor Redmile and other key shareholders, Redx is issuing just over 54 million shares at 26p.
Following the placing, Redx estimates it will have £28.1 million in working capital.
The capital injection will allow the company to build on the “strong progress” of its industry-leading ROCK portfolio, said chair Dr Jane Griffiths.
Specifically, it allows Redx to advance its ROCK2-selective inhibitor in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and commence clinical studies of its gastrointestinal-targeted drug candidate, RXC008, which has the potential to be a first-in-class treatment for Crohn's disease.
Representing a potentially new area of medicine, Rho-associated coiled-coil kinases (ROCK) inhibitors are a class of drugs that target ROCK enzymes, which are involved in various cellular processes such as cell contraction, motility and proliferation.
They have potential applications in treating fibrotic diseases like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and certain types of cancer by modulating these cellular activities.