NEW YORK and CLEVELAND, Dec. 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ABEO), a fully-integrated leader in gene and cell therapy, today announced that it intends to offer and sell shares of its common stock, and pre-funded warrants in lieu of common stock, in an underwritten public offering pursuant to an existing shelf registration statement. All of the securities in the offering are to be sold by Abeona. The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.
An existing holder of the Company’s common stock, Great Point Partners (“GPP”), has indicated its intention to purchase up to $33 million in the offering, including pre-funded warrants in lieu of common stock, subject to allocation by the underwriter and market and other conditions, including the ability to nominate two directors, including a new Executive Chairman, to Abeona’s Board of Directors. GPP has indicated that it expects such director nominees would be industry professionals not affiliated with such holder. As a result, Steven H. Rouhandeh would step down as Executive Chairman and would retain a seat on the Board, while Mark J. Alvino and Richard Van Duyne would exit the Board. These changes would be effective upon the Board’s qualification and election of GPP’s nominees.
Jefferies LLC is acting as sole book-running manager and underwriter for the offering. Abeona intends to grant the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase additional shares of its common stock in an amount up to 15% of the securities sold in the offering, on the same terms and conditions.
Abeona intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to fund continued clinical development of pipeline products, as well as for working capital and corporate purposes.
About Abeona Therapeutics
Abeona Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing gene and cell therapies for serious diseases. The Company’s clinical programs include EB-101, its autologous, gene-corrected cell therapy for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, as well as ABO-102 and ABO-101, novel AAV9-based gene therapies for Sanfilippo syndrome types A and B (MPS IIIA and MPS IIIB), respectively. The Company’s portfolio of AAV9-based gene therapies also features ABO-202 and ABO-201 for CLN1 disease and CLN3 disease, respectively. Its preclinical assets include ABO-401, which uses a novel vector from Abeona’s AIM™ AAV capsid platform to address all mutations of cystic fibrosis. Abeona has received numerous regulatory designations from the FDA and EMA for its pipeline candidates, including Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation for two candidates (EB-101 and ABO-102).
