NanoViricides Raises $20 Million in a Registered Direct Offering

NanoViricides, Inc. has raised approximately $20 million in a registered direct offering. The company will receive approximately $18.8 million in proceeds after deducting approximately $1.2 million for broker commissions and attorney fees.

"We were very pleased with the strong interest from select institutional investors and existing shareholders," said Eugene Seymour, MD, MPH, CEO of the company. He added: "It enabled us to raise $20 million in place of the intended $10 milion, taking advantage of the 20% additional allowance option for our registered securities."

Dr Seymour further explained: "We anticipate that the additional capital will be sufficient to last through Phase I and II human clinical studies of our injectable FluCide drug candidate, and through initial human clinical trials of DengueCide." DengueCide has received Orphan Drug designation by the US FDA as well as the European Medical Agency (EMA). These designations entail significant benefits, allowing the company to prioritise development of DengueCide.

With this raise, the company now has approximately $40 million cash in hand (including non-current cash-based assets), which the company believes is sufficient for its planned activities for the next 3 years and beyond. With these funds, in addition to certain clinical trials for FluCide and DengueCide, the company anticipates that it will also be able to expedite development of its four other drug candidates, namely, Oral FluCide, HerpeCide, HIVCide, and EKCCide into the FDA approval process.

With this additional capital, the company anticipates being able to hire necessary staff to accommodate the expanded workload as it gears several of its drug candidates towards IND filings over the near future. Further, the company will be able to continue its R&D programmes, such as nanoviricides against Rabies and Ebola/Marburg viruses. The company believes it will also be able to pursue additional R&D programmes such as developing nanoviricides against the recently discovered Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus (a Coronavirus), as well as other opportunities. These programmes should result in additional drug candidates in the company's already robust pipeline in the near future.