Science Park 400 Matrix II Building 1098 XH Amsterdam +31 (0)653816427 lmelens@lifespring.nl
- - Corporate Communications
- - Healthcare PR
- - Financial Communications
- - Content Marketing
- - Social Media and Online Communications
Repayment of bridge finance on unchanged terms
Leiden, The Netherlands, 21 July 2017: Pharming Group N.V. (“Pharming” or “the Company”) (Euronext Amsterdam: PHARM) announces that it has completed the replacement of its recently announced US$100 million bridge finance with OrbiMed Advisors with a US$100 million permanent facility agreement with OrbiMed Advisors. The bridge finance was used to redeem the Amortizing Convertible Bonds due 2017/2018, and to refinance the Company’s senior debt facility with Silicon Valley Bank and Kreos Capital, together with the associated prepayment fees and the legal and other costs of the transaction. The loan, initially structured as a bridge facility, has been replaced by a full loan agreement with a maturity date of July 2021 under unchanged terms and conditions as described below.
Highlights
Dr Sijmen de Vries, CEO of Pharming, commented:
“We are delighted to announce that we now completed the full refinancing of the Senior Debt and Amortizing Convertible Bonds on such excellent terms. OrbiMed Advisors is one of the world’s leading specialty debt investors in the life science sector, and we are very pleased to have them as a long term partner.
This new refinance enabled us to remove from the market the likelihood of issue of a substantial part of our authorized share capital (124 million shares) that was tied to the Amortising Convertible Bonds facility. With a conversion price of €0.289, these Bonds might otherwise have been converted into shares at significant discount to the current market price.
The net effect on the Company’s financial statements is also very positive. We will not be required to make repayments over the next 12 months of almost €3 million per month in cash (or in shares at a discount) on the Amortizing Convertible Bonds, nor to make repayments of almost €1 million per month on the senior debt from December this year until September of next year. This allows us to invest our cash into promoting RUCONEST® and developing our pipeline and facilities, thereby enhancing growth opportunities.
This is, therefore, another good day for all our stakeholders.”
Further details
New permament Debt Facility
--- Ends ---
About Pharming Group N.V.
Pharming is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing innovative products for the safe, effective treatment of rare diseases and unmet medical needs. Pharming’s lead product, RUCONEST® (conestat alfa) is a recombinant human C1 esterase inhibitor approved for the treatment of acute Hereditary Angioedema (“HAE”) attacks in patients in Europe, the US, Israel and South Korea. The product is available on a named-patient basis in other territories where it has not yet obtained marketing authorization.
RUCONEST® is commercialized by Pharming in Algeria, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Morocco, the Netherlands, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Syria, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Yemen.
RUCONEST® is distributed by Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) (SS: SOBI) in the other EU countries, and in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Norway, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. RUCONEST® is distributed in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Venezuela by Cytobioteck, in South Korea by HyupJin Corporation and in Israel by Megapharm.
RUCONEST® is also being investigated in a Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of HAE in young children (2-13 years of age) and evaluated for various additional follow-on indications.
Pharming’s technology platform includes a unique, GMP-compliant, validated process for the production of pure recombinant human proteins that has proven capable of producing industrial quantities of high quality recombinant human proteins in a more economical and less immunogenetic way compared with current cell-line based methods. Leads for enzyme replacement therapy (“ERT”) for Pompe and Fabry’s diseases are being optimized at present, with additional programs not involving ERT also being explored at an early stage at present.
Pharming has a long term partnership with the China State Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry (“CSIPI”), a Sinopharm company, for joint global development of new products, starting with recombinant human Factor VIII for the treatment of Haemophilia A. Pre-clinical development and manufacturing will take place to global standards at CSIPI and are funded by CSIPI. Clinical development will be shared between the partners with each partner taking the costs for their territories under the partnership.
Pharming has declared that the Netherlands is its “Home Member State” pursuant to the amended article 5:25a paragraph 2 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act.
Additional information is available on the Pharming website: www.pharming.com
About OrbiMed Advisors
OrbiMed is a leading investment firm dedicated exclusively to the healthcare sector, with over US $13 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the spectrum of healthcare companies, from venture capital start-ups to large multinational companies. OrbiMed's team of more than 90 employees manages a series of private equity funds, public equity funds, royalty/debt funds and other investment vehicles. OrbiMed maintains its headquarters in New York City, with additional offices in San Francisco, Mumbai, Shanghai, and Herzliya.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release of Pharming Group N.V. and its subsidiaries (“Pharming”, the “Company” or the “Group”) may contain forward-looking statements including without limitation those regarding Pharming’s financial projections, market expectations, developments, partnerships, plans, strategies and capital expenditures.
The Company cautions that such forward-looking statements may involve certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation the effect of competitive, political and economic factors, legal claims, the Company’s ability to protect intellectual property, fluctuations in exchange and interest rates, changes in taxation laws or rates, changes in legislation or accountancy practices and the Company’s ability to identify, develop and successfully commercialize new products, markets or technologies.
As a result, the Company’s actual performance, position and financial results and statements may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations set forth in such forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which should be taken as of their respective dates of issue, unless required by laws or regulations.
Contacts:
Pharming Group N.V.
Sijmen de Vries, CEO, Tel: +31 71 524 7400
Robin Wright, CFO, Tel: +31 71 524 7400
FTI Consulting, London, UK:
Julia Phillips/ Victoria Foster Mitchell, Tel: +44 203 727 1136
Lifespring Life Sciences Communication, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Leon Melens, Tel: +31 6 53 81 64 27
Science Park 400 Matrix II Building 1098 XH Amsterdam +31 (0)653816427 lmelens@lifespring.nl