Open Orphan PLC Exercise of Warrants (1857S)

TIDMORPH

RNS Number : 1857S

Open Orphan PLC

07 July 2020

7 July 2020

Open Orphan plc

("Open Orphan" or the "Company")

Exercise of Investor Warrants by Investors and Issue of Shares

Open Orphan plc (ORPH), the rapidly growing specialist CRO pharmaceutical services company which is the world leader in the testing of vaccines and antivirals using human challenge study models, has received notices of exercise of warrants by investors who participated in the Venn loan note financing in December 2018 over 1,749,732 ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 0.1 pence per share for 619,448 Ordinary Shares and at a price of 2.2 pence per share for 1,130,284 Ordinary Shares. The gross proceeds of this exercise received by the Company amounts to GBP25,485.72.

Following the warrant exercise, the outstanding warrants over Ordinary Shares are as follows:

 
    Number of        Exercise      Date awarded    Expiry Date           Beneficiary 
  Ordinary Shares    Price per 
                       share 
-----------------  -----------  -----------------  ------------    ------------------------ 
     166,666         30 pence      7 June 2011     6 June 2021            An advisor 
     949,253        0.1 pence    11 December 2018  10 December     Venn loan note investors 
                                                       2023 
    1,732,053       2.2 pence    11 December 2018  10 December     Venn loan note investors 
                                                       2023 
    1,607,142       5.6 pence      28 June 2019    27 June 2024           An advisor 
 

The Company has made application for 1,749,732 new Ordinary Shares, to be issued and allotted as a result of the warrant exercise set out above, to be admitted to trading on AIM and Euronext Growth. Admission is expected to occur at 8.00 a.m. on 10 July 2020.

Total Voting Rights

Following the admission of 1,749,732 new Ordinary Shares, the Company's total issued ordinary share capital will consist of 665,609,830 Ordinary Shares. This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

ENDS

For further information please contact

 
 Open Orphan plc 
                                                    [phone] 
 Cathal Friel, Executive Chairman                    0007 
 Arden Partners plc (Nominated Adviser and Joint    [phone] 
  Broker)                                            5900 
 John Llewellyn-Lloyd / Benjamin Cryer 
                                                    [phone] 
 finnCap Ltd (Joint Broker)                          0500 
 Geoff Nash / James Thompson / Richard Chambers 
                                                    [phone] 
 Davy (Euronext Growth Adviser and Joint Broker)     6363 
 Anthony Farrell 
                                                    [phone] 
 Camarco (Financial PR)                              4980 
 Tom Huddart / Hugo Liddy 
 

Notes to Editors - Open Orphan:

Open Orphan is a rapidly growing niche CRO pharmaceutical services company which is a world leader in the testing of vaccines and antivirals through the use of human challenge clinical trials. Conducted from Europe's only 24-bedroom quarantine clinic with onsite virology providing individually isolated rooms and connected to our specialist laboratory facility. Which offers highly specialised virology and immunology laboratory services to support pre-clinical and clinical respiratory drug, antiviral, and vaccine discovery and development. Reliable laboratory analysis underpinned by scientific expertise is essential when processing and analysing clinical samples. Robust quality processes support our team of scientists in the delivery of submission ready data.

The Company has a leading portfolio of 8 viral challenge study models which are: 2 FLU, 2 RSV, 1 HRV, 1 Asthma, 1 cough and 1 COPD viral challenge models. As announced in early March, Open Orphan is rapidly advancing a number of Coronavirus challenge study models and expects to be helping many COVID-19 vaccine development companies to test their vaccines. No other company in the world has such a portfolio, with only two competitors globally having 1 challenge study model each. In June 2020 hVIVO COVID Clear Test was launched, the most accurate antibody test available to UK employers, helping them to get their people back to work.

Open Orphan comprises of two commercial specialist CRO services businesses, hVIVO and Venn Life Sciences , and is developing an early stage orphan drug genomics data platform business. This platform captures valuable genetic data from patient populations with specific diseases with designated orphan drug status and incorporating AI tools. In June 2019, Open Orphan acquired AIM-listed Venn Life Sciences Holdings plc in a reverse take-over and in January 2020 it completed the merger with hVIVO plc. Venn, as an integrated drug development consultancy, offers CMC (chemistry, manufacturing and controls), preclinical, Phase I & II clinical trials design and execution. The merger with hVIVO created a European full pharma services company broadening the Company's customer base and with complementary specialist CRO services, widened the range of the Company's service offerings.

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July 07, 2020 02:10 ET (06:10 GMT)