NAPL Napo Pharm.Regs

RNS Number:4939P
Napo Pharmaceuticals Inc
06 March 2008



For immediate release                                       6 March 2008



                          Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc
                          ("Napo" or "the Company")

$2.55 million fundraising by way of issue of convertible debt and common shares
                                     and
    $1.5 million extension of payment terms with certain trade contractors


South San Francisco, California, 5 March 2008 - Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc,
announces that it has raised $2.55 million (approximately �1.28 million), $2.47
million (approximately �1.24 million) net of expenses, through the issue of
$2.25 million of convertible debt (the "March Convertible") and approximately
$0.3 million (�0.15 million) of common shares (the "Subscription", together with
the March Convertible, the "Fundraising").



The March Convertible bears interest at a rate of 3.2 per cent per annum payable
in cash and is redeemable on 31 July 2008. 25 per cent of the March Convertible
(approximately $0.56 million) is convertible into the Company's common stock at
a price of 27.9 pence (the "Conversion Price"). If the maximum conversion takes
place, the Company would issue 1,016,655 common shares, representing
approximately 1.9 per cent of the Company's current issued share capital. The
remaining 75 per cent of the March Convertible (approximately $1.69 million) is
repayable in cash on 31 July 2008.



Holders of the March Convertible are also being issued with warrants over
3,049,965 common shares (representing approximately 5.7 per cent of the
Company's current issued share capital) exercisable at any time from 31 July
2008 until 3 March 2013 at the Conversion Price.



The Company is also raising approximately $0.3 million by issuing 600,000 common
shares by way of the Subscription at 25 pence, which represents a 7.4 per cent
discount to the closing mid-price of the common shares on 5 March 2008.



In conjunction with the Fundraising, the Company has extended payment terms with
certain trade contractors (the "Trade Contractor Extension") which will defer
payments to these trade contractors of approximately $1.5 million until 31 July
2008. Certain of these trade contractors are being issued with warrants over, in
aggregate, 1,084,432 common shares representing 2.0 per cent of the Company's
current issued share capital. These warrants are exercisable at any time from 31
July 2008 until 3 March 2013 at the Conversion Price.



The Net Funds available from the Fundraising and the Trade Contractor Extension
(the "Net Funds") will be used to continue to fund the working capital of the
Company into July 2008 and to reach three clinical benchmarks expected by the
end of the first half of 2008, namely:



*    the Phase 2 CRO-ID for acute infectious diarrhoea trial being
     conducted by Napo's partner in India, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, the results 
     for which are expected in Q2 2008;

*    the Phase 2 CRO-ID trial being conducted by Napo in Bangladesh
     for cholera, the results for which are expected in Q2 2008; and

*    the completion of the Stage I of Napo's Phase 3 adaptive design
     trial for CRO-HIV funded by Napo, which is expected in Q2 2008.



The Net Funds are not sufficient to complete Stage II of the Phase 3 adaptive
design trial for CRO-HIV which will focus on the dose selected in Stage I of the
trial.  However the Company will continue its efforts to raise additional funds
primarily from corporate partnering alliances and out-license deals. The
directors are confident that the Company will be able to secure a partnership
for the commercial rights to crofelemer which will provide sufficient resources
to the Company to fund the development of CRO-HIV through to FDA approval.  An
NDA filing with the FDA for CRO-HIV is expected at the end of 2008.



In conjunction with the Fundraising, the terms of the $1.475 million convertible
debt announced on 7 January 2008 (the "January Convertible") have been amended.
As a result of this amendment all of the January Convertible will be entitled to
convert into common shares at the Conversion Price (representing 2,665,896
common shares, being approximately 5 per cent of the current issued share
capital) and holders of the January Convertible will receive warrants over
common shares equal to 50 per cent of the value of the January Convertible at
the Conversion Price (representing 1,332,948 common shares, being approximately
2.5 per cent of the current issued share capital) exercisable after 60 days.
The January Convertible will now bear interest at a rate of 3.2 per cent per
annum payable in cash (previously 8 per cent).



Napo recently received full control over the western commercial rights of
crofelemer as part of a mutual termination agreement with Trine Pharmaceuticals,
which is winding down its operations, as announced on 11 February 2008. Napo is
currently negotiating the license of certain commercial rights to crofelemer in
western territories.  The Company is seeking terms which include access fees
relating to the late-stage profile of crofelemer, milestone payments and
royalties as the product achieves its scientific and clinical endpoints,
regulatory approval, and commercial success.



Lisa Conte, Napo's CEO commented, "We are pleased to announce this financing
which allows us to continue to move forward with our Phase 3 CRO-HIV trial.
Regaining the commercial control over crofelemer in western territories for all
indications is a transformational moment for Napo, allowing us to engage with
partners who are able to prepare for and provide the appropriate educational and
commercial activities for crofelemer and share the responsibilities associated
with latest stages of drug development and approval."

For more information please contact:

Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Lisa Conte, Chief Executive Officer
(001) + 650 616 1902

Charles Thompson, Chief Financial Officer
(001) + 650 616 1902

Buchanan Communications
020 7466 5000
Mary-Jane Johnson, Tim Anderson, Catherine Breen



Notes to Editors



About Napo

Napo Pharmaceuticals Inc., focuses on the development and commercialisation of
proprietary pharmaceuticals for the global marketplace in collaboration with
local partners. Napo was founded in November 2001, and is based in California,
USA with a subsidiary in Mumbai, India. Napo's late-stage proprietary
gastro-intestinal compound, crofelemer, is in various stages of clinical
development for four distinct product indications, including a late-stage Phase
3 program:

*           CRO-HIV for AIDS diarrhoea, Phase 3;

*           CRO-IBS for diarrhoea irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS), Phase 2;

*           CRO-ID for acute infectious diarrhoea (including cholera), Phase 2;
            and

*           CRO-PED for paediatric diarrhoea, Phase 1.

The FDA has granted fast-track status to CRO-IBS and CRO-HIV. Crofelemer, a
proprietary patented first in class agent, is extracted from Croton lechleri, a
medicinal plant which can be sustainably harvested from several countries in
South America. Napo has exclusive worldwide rights to synthetic compounds in
pre-clinical development which act by the same mechanism of action.  Napo also
plans to develop an early clinical stage product, NP-500, for the treatment of
insulin resistant diseases of Type II diabetes and metabolic syndrome (Syndrome
X; pre-diabetic syndrome) and has 4 issued patents for anti-cancer agents in
pre-clinical development. Napo has a plant library of approximately 2,300
medicinal plants from tropical regions and Napo has entered two screening
relationships associated with this collection. Currently, products are based on
the chemical and biological diversity derived from plants with medicinal
properties, but future products may be in-licensed from other sources. Napo has
partnerships with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited of India and AsiaPharm Group
Ltd. of China.

For more information please visit www.napopharma.com.






                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END

IOEIIFSTVDIRIIT

Napo Pharm.Regs (LSE:NAPL)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Mai 2024 à Juin 2024

Napo Pharm.Regs (LSE:NAPL)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Juin 2023 à Juin 2024