- Provides approximately $34 million in cash to be deployed towards drug development and
clinical programs;
- Provides up to $50 million in potential tax attributes;
- Provides the opportunity for further integration of manufacturing capability and capacity expansion in a 150,000 sq. ft.
facility in Belleville, Ontario; and
- Provides significant foothold in Ontario and consolidates presence as a major
plasma-derived therapeutics player in Canada.
LAVAL, QC, Oct 31, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - ProMetic Life Sciences
Inc. (TSX: PLI) (OTCQX: PFSCF) ("ProMetic" or the "Corporation") announced today that it has closed the
acquisition of all the issued and outstanding common shares of Telesta Therapeutics, Inc, ("Telesta") by way of a plan of
arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act (the "Acquisition") for a consideration of $0.14 per Telesta common share payable in ProMetic common shares.
The number of common shares to be issued by ProMetic is based on the volume-weighted average closing price ("VWAP") of
ProMetic's common shares for the five (5) trading days prior to the closing date of the Acquisition. At the end of trading on the
Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday, October 28, 2016, the 5 day VWAP of ProMetic's common shares was
$2.98. Accordingly, each Telesta common share was acquired for 0.04698 ProMetic common share.
Pierre Laurin, President and CEO of ProMetic stated: "We welcome Telesta's shareholders decision
to participate to ProMetic's growth as they will benefit from our ability to further leverage Telesta's assets. ProMetic represents
a balanced, low-risk, high reward opportunity as we are getting ready to launch our first plasma-derived therapeutic, plasminogen,
in mid-2017 followed by the sequential launches of several other plasma-derived products from our proprietary manufacturing
platform. Furthermore, our small molecule fibrosis program is set to contribute further significant upside now that PBI-4050's
efficacy in humans has been demonstrated", added Mr. Laurin.
"Closing this transaction is both strategically and tactically significant for ProMetic for many reasons", commented
Bruce Pritchard, Chief Operating Officer. He added, "It brings cash which extends our operating
runway; a small group of key personnel who are highly complementary to our existing staff; tax losses to be used going forward; and
lastly, a facility located in Belleville, Ontario with a recently refurbished part that could add
quickly to our existing manufacturing output and in the longer term, the potential to provide additional plasma processing
capacity. It also widens our trans-Canadian footprint, positioning us as a major supplier of plasma proteins to the Canadian
market".
Concurrently with the Acquisition, the Corporation has closed a private placement entered into with Structured Alpha LP
("SALP"), an investment vehicle of Peter J. Thomson. This concurrent private placement was
completed in connection with the exercise by SALP of its pre-emptive right. The private placement is for the subscription of
1,401,632 common shares of the Corporation at a price of $2.98 per common share. The proceeds
from this private placement have been used to offset and reduce the total amount owed by ProMetic to SALP under its second amended
and restated loan agreement by $4,176,863.36.
About ProMetic
ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (www.prometic.com) is a long
established biopharmaceutical company with globally recognized expertise in bioseparations, plasma-derived therapeutics and
small-molecule drug development. ProMetic offers its state of the art technologies for large-scale purification of biologics, drug
development, proteomics and the elimination of pathogens to a growing base of industry leaders and uses its own affinity technology
that provides for highly efficient extraction and purification of therapeutic proteins from human plasma in order to develop
best-in-class therapeutics. ProMetic is also active in developing its own novel small-molecule therapeutic products targeting unmet
medical needs in the field of fibrosis, anemia, neutropenia, cancer and autoimmune diseases/inflammation as well as certain
nephropathies. Headquartered in Laval (Canada), ProMetic has R&D facilities in the UK, the U.S.
and Canada, manufacturing facilities in the UK and commercial activities in the U.S., Europe,
Russia, Asia and Australia.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements about ProMetic's objectives, strategies and businesses that involve risks
and uncertainties. These statements are "forward-looking" because they are based on our current expectations about the markets we
operate in and on various estimates and assumptions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those anticipated in these
forward-looking statements if known or unknown risks affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions turn out to be
inaccurate. Such risks and assumptions include, but are not limited to, ProMetic's ability to develop, manufacture, and
successfully commercialize value-added pharmaceutical products, the availability of funds and resources to pursue R&D projects,
the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the ability of ProMetic to take advantage of business opportunities in
the pharmaceutical industry, uncertainties related to the regulatory process and general changes in economic conditions. You will
find a more detailed assessment of the risks that could cause actual events or results to materially differ from our current
expectations in ProMetic's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015, under the
heading "Risk and Uncertainties related to ProMetic's business". As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking
statement will materialize. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement even if new information becomes
available, as a result of future events or for any other reason, unless required by applicable securities laws and regulations. All
amounts are in Canadian dollars unless indicated otherwise.
SOURCE ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.
