- Global pharmaceutical company makes initial $10 million equity
investment in BioLineRx -
- BioLineRx to host conference call today, December, 16 at 10:00
a.m. EST -
JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 2014--
BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ: BLRX) (TASE: BLRX), a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company dedicated to identifying, in-licensing and
developing promising therapeutic candidates, today announced that it has
entered into a multi-year strategic collaboration agreement with
Novartis Pharma AG designed to facilitate development and
commercialization of Israeli-sourced drug candidates.
Leveraging BioLineRx’s close and long-lasting ties with academic
institutions, hospitals and biomedical companies in Israel, as well as
its proven project screening process and development expertise, Novartis
will evaluate projects identified and presented by BioLineRx for
co-development and potential future licensing under the collaboration.
The companies intend to co-develop a number of pre-clinical and early
clinical therapeutic projects through clinical proof-of-concept. As part
of the agreement, Novartis has made an initial equity investment in
BioLineRx of $10 million for 12.8% of BioLineRx’s current shares
outstanding.
Dr. Kinneret Savitsky, CEO of BioLineRx, said, “This is a transformative
collaboration for BioLineRx. Recognition by Novartis, the global leader
for innovative therapeutics, is a further validation of our drug
development capabilities, our business model, and our strong track
record of selecting the most promising innovative therapeutic programs
stemming from Israel’s leading research institutions and biotech
start-ups, and developing them towards commercialization. Working
closely with Novartis at relatively early stages of project development
will enable us to tailor our development processes to meet their needs
and expectations, helping to ensure agreed upon clinical goals are met
successfully.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis acquired an initial 5,000,000
American Depositary Shares of BioLineRx in a private transaction at a
price of $2.00 per share for a total equity investment of $10 million.
Novartis will not have any governance rights and has agreed to certain
standstill provisions. Novartis and BioLineRx will jointly evaluate both
clinical and pre-clinical stage projects presented by BioLineRx via a
Joint Steering Committee, which will determine which projects to advance
further in development and on what terms. Projects at or reaching the
clinical stage will be eligible for selection by Novartis. Upon
selection of a project, Novartis will pay BioLineRx an option fee of $5
million, as well as fund 50% of the anticipated remaining development
costs associated with establishing clinical proof-of-concept, in the
form of an additional equity investment in BioLineRx. Novartis will have
an exclusive right of first negotiation to license from BioLineRx each
selected project upon establishment of clinical proof-of-concept. The
companies intend to develop up to three programs pursuant to this
collaboration.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
BioLineRx will hold a conference call today, December 16, 2014, at 10:00
a.m. EST. Dr. Kinneret Savitsky, Chief Executive Officer; Philip Serlin,
Chief Financial and Operating Officer; and David Malek, Vice-President
of Business Development, will present and provide more details on the
collaboration with Novartis. To access the conference call, please dial
1-888-668-9141 from the U.S. or +972-3-918-609 internationally. The call
will also be available via live webcast through BioLineRx’s website. A
replay of the conference call will be available approximately two hours
after completion of the live conference call. To access the replay,
please dial 1-888-326-9310 from the U.S. or +972-3-925-5901
internationally. The replay will be available through December 19, 2014.
About BioLineRx
BioLineRx is a publicly-traded, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
dedicated to identifying, in-licensing and developing promising
therapeutic candidates. The Company in-licenses novel compounds
primarily from academic institutions and biotech companies based
in Israel, develops them through pre-clinical and/or clinical stages,
and then partners with pharmaceutical companies for advanced clinical
development and/or commercialization.
BioLineRx’s current portfolio consists of a variety of clinical and
pre-clinical projects, including: BL-1040 for prevention of pathological
cardiac remodeling following a myocardial infarction, which has been
out-licensed to Bellerophon BCM (f/k/a Ikaria) and is in the midst of a
pivotal CE-Mark registration trial; BL-8040, a cancer therapy platform,
which is in the midst of a Phase 2 study for acute myeloid leukemia
(AML) as well as a Phase 1 study for stem cell mobilization; and BL-7010
for celiac disease, which has completed a Phase 1/2 study.
For more information on BioLineRx, please visit www.biolinerx.com or
download the investor relations mobile device app, which allows users
access to the Company’s SEC documents, press releases, and events.
BioLineRx’s IR app is available on the iTunes App Store as well as
the Google Play Store.
Safe Harbor Statement
Various statements in this release concerning BioLineRx’s future
expectations constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements include words such as “may,” “expects,” “anticipates,”
“believes,” and “intends,” and describe opinions about future events.
These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties that may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of BioLineRx to be materially different from any future
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Some of these risks are: changes in
relationships with collaborators; the impact of competitive products and
technological changes; risks relating to the development of new
products; and the ability to implement technological improvements. These
and other factors are more fully discussed in the “Risk Factors” section
of BioLineRx’s most recent annual report on Form 20-F filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 17, 2014. In addition,
any forward-looking statements represent BioLineRx’s views only as of
the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing
its views as of any subsequent date. BioLineRx does not assume any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements unless required by
law.
Source: BioLineRx
for BioLineRx
Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.
Joshua Drumm,
Ph.D.
+1-212-375-2664
jdrumm@tiberend.com
or
Andrew
Mielach
+1-212-375-2694
amielach@tiberend.com
or
Tsipi
Haitovsky
Public Relations
+972-3-6240871
tsipihai5@gmail.com