Faron’s proposed placing and subscription to raise £8 million

Faron Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, is proposing placing of up to 2,868,000 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company and a proposed subscription of up to 332,000 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company at a price of 250 pence per share to raise, in aggregate, up to approximately £8.0 million before expenses.

The net proceeds of the proposed placing and subscriptions shares would be used to fund:

• Safety trials for the US development of its lead product traumakine for the treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
• Pre-clinical and clinical development of clevegen, the Company’s cancer immunotherapy checkpoint antibody, to Phase I/II
• European clinical development to Phase I/II of traumakine for the treatment of patients with Rupture of Abdominal Aorta Aneurysm (“RAAA”)
• Further R&D and operational expenses

The proposed Placing and Subscription builds on the significant progress made by Faron since its admission to AIM in November 2015 and delivery on its key strategic aims, including the continued progress of the Company’s traumakine product through its pivotal pan-European Phase III interest trial

The Company has received advance assurance from HM Revenue and Customs that it continues to be a qualifying holding for the purposes of the Venture Capital Trust rules and a qualifying company for the purposes of the Enterprise Investment Scheme

Investors

The proposed Placing and Subscription is to be implemented through a private placement with a limited number of institutional and other investors. It is expected that finalisation of the proposed Placing and Subscription will commence immediately following this announcement.

Commenting on the proposed Placing and Subscription, Dr Markku Jalkanen, CEO of Faron, said,

“The new funding would enable us to continue to deliver on our business objectives as we advance our exciting pipeline over the next two-to-three years.

The US represents a large opportunity to Faron for traumakine, and the funding would allow us to take the first step in its development and FDA registration process.