CAMBRIDGE, Mass--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Genocea Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GNCA), a company developing T cell-directed vaccines and immunotherapies, today announced that it has entered into a loan and security agreement with Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. (NYSE:HTGC) for a term loan of up to $27.0 million.
"This additional access to capital enhances our financial flexibility during a period when we expect to announce data from both of our lead clinical programs,” said Jonathan Poole, chief financial officer of Genocea. “We are pleased to be working with the leading specialty finance company to help further our growth and support the continued development of our pipeline of novel product candidates. Hercules understands our business and has a strong conviction in our corporate strategy.”
The proceeds of the initial draw of $12.0 million will be used to repay Genocea’s existing term loan facility and to provide additional working capital for general corporate purposes. Genocea can draw up to an additional $5.0 million at its option through June 30, 2015. Two further tranches of $5.0 million each can be drawn down at Genocea’s option on or prior to December 15, 2015 subject to the achievement of certain clinical and corporate milestones.
Additionally, Genocea entered into an equity rights letter agreement with Hercules pursuant to which Hercules purchased 223,463 shares of Genocea’s common stock at $8.95 per share, the closing price of Genocea’s common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Global Market on November 19, 2014.
Full details of the terms of the loan and equity rights letter agreement are contained in the Form 8-K which Genocea has filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc.:
Hercules
Technology Growth Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) ("Hercules") is the leading
specialty finance company focused on providing senior secured loans to
venture capital-backed companies in technology-related markets,
including technology, biotechnology, life science, and energy &
renewable technology industries, at all stages of development. Since
inception (December 2003), Hercules has committed more than $4.6 billion
to over 300 companies and is the lender of choice for entrepreneurs and
venture capital firms seeking growth capital financing.
Hercules' common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol "HTGC."
In addition, Hercules has three outstanding bond issuances of 7.00% Senior Notes due April 2019, 7.00% Senior Notes due September 2019, and 6.25% Senior Notes due July 2024, which trade on the NYSE under the symbols "HTGZ", "HTGY," and "HTGX," respectively.
Companies interested in learning more about financing opportunities should contact info@htgc.com, or call 650.289.3060.
About Genocea
Genocea is harnessing the power of T cell
immunity to develop life-changing vaccines and immunotherapies. T cells
are increasingly recognized as a critical element of protective immune
responses to a wide range of diseases, but traditional discovery methods
have proven unable to identify the targets of such protective immune
response. Using ATLAS™, its proprietary technology platform, Genocea
identifies these targets to potentially enable the rapid development of
medicines to address critical patient needs. Genocea's pipeline of novel
clinical stage T cell-enabled product candidates includes GEN-003 for
HSV-2 therapy, GEN-004 to prevent infections caused by pneumococcus, and
earlier-stage programs in chlamydia, HSV-2 prophylaxis, malaria and
cancer immunotherapy. For more information, please visit the company's
website at www.genocea.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements herein relating to
future business performance, conditions or strategies and other
financial and business matters, including expectations regarding
clinical developments and the ability of Genocea to draw additional
amounts under its debt facility, are forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Genocea
cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous
assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Factors
that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results
discussed in the forward-looking statements or historical experience
include risks and uncertainties, including Genocea’s ability to progress
any product candidates in preclinical or clinical trials; the scope,
rate and progress of its preclinical studies and clinical trials and
other research and development activities; clinical trial results;
current results may not be predictive of future results; even if the
data from preclinical studies or clinical trials is positive, the
product may not prove to be safe and efficacious; Genocea’s ability to
enter into future collaborations with industry partners and the
government and the terms, timing and success of any such collaboration;
Genocea’s ability to make additional draws under its debt facility, the
cost of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims
and other intellectual property rights; Genocea’s ability to obtain
rights to technology; competition for clinical resources and patient
enrollment from drug candidates in development by other companies with
greater resources and visibility; its ability to obtain adequate
financing in the future through product licensing, co-promotional
arrangements, public or private equity or debt financing or otherwise;
general business conditions; competition; business abilities and
judgment of personnel; the availability of qualified personnel and other
factors set forth under “Risk Factors” in Genocea’s Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 and other filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Further
information on the factors and risks that could affect Genocea’s
business, financial conditions and results of operations is contained in
Genocea’s filings with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov.
These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press
release and Genocea assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.