Arovella Therapeutics Ltd has received firm commitments from institutional and sophisticated investors for a $15 million placement at $0.125 per share. The new capital raise replaces the placement announced on January 10, 2025, which was withdrawn after a private investor defaulted on a $15 million binding subscription obligation.
Arovella is seeking a remedy under the subscription agreement.
As part of the offer, investors will receive one attaching option for every three new shares issued, exercisable at $0.15 and expiring on May 24, 2027.
Following the placement, Arovella will have approximately $26.8 million in cash and cash equivalents (before costs).
Critical milestones
The funds will be used to complete enrolment and report initial safety and efficacy data for the phase 1 clinical trial of ALA-101 in patients with CD19-positive blood cancers: for patients with CD19-positive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia.
Additionally, the proceeds will support the development of Arovella’s Arovella’s iNKT cell therapy pipeline and advance Arovella’s solid tumour products, and for general working capital purposes.
Over the remainder of CY2025, Arovella expects to achieve several critical milestones, including:
- Securing IND approval through the US FDA to conduct a phase 1 clinical trial in CD19-positive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia;
- Commencing a phase 1 clinical trial;
- Obtaining clinical data from initial patients dosed with ALA-101; and
- Securing proof-of-concept data for its solid tumour programs directed toward gastric and/or pancreatic cancer.
“Despite the challenges faced finalising the previous placement announced in January, it is excellent to have the continued faith of those that demonstrated their prior support. This is an excellent outcome and we are committed to our development plans to take ALA-101 into the clinic and assess its impact on patients with CD19+ blood cancers,” Arovella managing director and CEO Dr Michael Baker said.
“The company is well positioned, and the $15 million placement provides funding to generate preliminary safety and efficacy data in human clinical trials which is a pivotal driver of value. We are excited to continue with our development plans and look forward to building on our success and creating value for our shareholders.”
More about the Placement
Arovella will raise approximately $15 million before costs. The company will issue around 120 million new fully paid ordinary shares at $0.125 per share. Placement investors will also receive one attaching option for every three new shares issued, with an exercise price of $0.15 and an expiration date of May 24, 2027.
The issue price of $0.125 per share represents a 33.1% discount to the volume-weighted average price of Arovella shares over the 30 trading days up to February 5, 2025, which was $0.1869. The total securities to be issued under the placement include approximately 120 million new shares and 40 million attaching options.
Settlement of the placement is expected on March 4, 2025, with allotment on March 5, 2025. The new shares will rank equally with existing fully paid ordinary shares, and the company will apply for their quotation on the ASX. Arovella will also seek ASX quotation for the attaching options.
Ord Minnett Limited and Taylor Collison Limited acted as joint lead managers for the placement.