Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Ltd. (Bulletin Board:BCLI) has raised a gross $10.5 million in a private placement of 42 million shares at $0.25 per share, a 15% discount on the average price in the preceding 30 trading days. The company also issued warrants for the purchase of 42 million shares at an exercise price of $0.348 per share.
Brainstorm Cell had $3 million in cash before the placement. It will use the net proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes, including the recently launched phase II clinical trial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease).
Maxim Group LLC was the sole underwriter for the offering, in which several healthcare-focused funds participated.
Brainstorm Cell president Chaim Lebovits, the chairman and CEO of ACC International Holdings Inc., owns 20% of the company after the placement.
Brainstorm Cell has developed a stem cell treatment, NurOwn, for ALS, which passed its phase I clinical trial. The success of the study caused the company to bring forward the Phase IIa clinical trial (preliminary efficacy study), which had good interim results.
The company is also developing NurOwn for Parkinson's disease, and recently began examining the product for the treatment of autism. NurOwn is derived from autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells mixed with a proprietary cocktail that are injected back into the patient's damaged spine or muscles to excrete the substances to prevent inflammation, protect existing cells and encourage the regeneration of nerve cells in the damaged area.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 17, 2014
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