ReNeuron Group PLC (LON:RENE) is raising up to £15mln, which will be invested in an expanded study on its treatment for a degenerative eye disease and to deliver proof-of-concept data from its exosome collaborations.
The new money will come in two tranches: A £13.9mln placing at 70p a share and a subscription offer of up to £1.1mln. The fundraiser extends the company’s cash runway by a further 18 months.
ReNeuron said it plans to expand its phase IIa study in the US and UK treating people with the genetic eye disorder retinitis pigmentosa using its hRPC cell therapy candidate. To date, the signs of efficacy have been “encouraging”, it added.
Some of the proceeds will also be deployed to assess the potential of ‘cellular couriers’ called exosomes to deliver therapeutic agents to the brain.
ReNeuron currently has three collaboration agreements with unnamed major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
It expects to generate pre-clinical proof-of-concept results in the first half of next year.
In a separate statement, the research and development group announced interim results, which showed costs fell by £3.9mln to £7.9mln as it narrowed its remit to focus on its retinitis pigmentosa and exosomes programmes. The loss for the six months to September 30, 2020, was £7.1mln.
Cash used during the period fell to £2.6mln from £5.8mln and it exited the half with £9.8mln in the bank.
"Our decision earlier this year to focus the company's resources on our retinal disease programme and our exosome and iPSC platforms has resulted in significantly lower operating costs, as reflected in the interim results for the period under review,” said chief executive Olav Hellebø in the results statement.
“This renewed clarity of focus, together with the fundraise announced separately yesterday, will enable us to reach important, data-driven value inflexion points across our programmes over the next 12 months and beyond."
