Arix Bioscience plc

 

Portfolio company Disc Medicine raises $157.8 million in public offering

LONDON, 23 June 2023: Arix Bioscience plc (“Arix” or the “Company”) (LSE: ARIX), a transatlantic venture capital company focused on investing in breakthrough biotechnology companies, notes that its portfolio company, Disc Medicine, today announced the closing of its underwritten public offering of common stock and pre-funded warrants, generating aggregate gross proceeds to Disc Medicine of approximately $157.8 million.

The public offering comprised the sale of 3,015,919 shares of common stock and, in lieu of common stock to certain investors that so chose, pre-funded warrants to purchase 204,081 shares of its common stock. The shares of common stock sold include 420,000 shares pursuant to the option granted by Disc to the underwriters, which option was exercised in full. The shares of common stock were sold at a public offering price of $49.00 per share, and the pre-funded warrants were sold at a public offering price of $48.9999 per pre-funded warrant, which represents the per share public offering price for the common stock less the $0.0001 per share exercise price for each such pre-funded warrant.

Disc will use the funds for research and the clinical development of its current or additional product candidates, as well as for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

Following the fundraise, Arix’s percentage holding has been diluted from 3.1% to 2.7%. The holding value will continue to be determined by the market price of Disc Medicine’s shares which has performed strongly since its reverse merger at the end of 2022.

Robert Lyne, CEO of Arix Bioscience, said: “Disc Medicine has built a platform around a world class management team and a pipeline of assets that address an underserved need in the treatment of haematologic diseases. Following the recently announced Phase 2 data from the company’s bitopertin programme, the success of the Disc fundraising in the current macro environment is a validation of our strategy to back the major biotech companies of tomorrow. All of this has been achieved in less than two years since our initial investment.”

The announcement can be accessed on Disc Medicine’s website at: https://www.discmedicine.com/ and the full text of the announcement from the company is contained below.

 

[ENDS]

 

Enquiries

For more information on Arix, please contact:

 

Arix Bioscience plc

+44 (0)20 7290 1050

ir@arixbioscience.com

 

Powerscourt Group

Sarah MacLeod, Ibrahim Khalil, Nick Johnson

+44 (0)20 7250 1446

arix@powerscourt-group.com

 

About Arix Bioscience plc

Arix Bioscience plc is a global venture capital company focused on investing in breakthrough biotechnology companies around cutting-edge advances in life sciences.

 

We collaborate with exceptional entrepreneurs and provide the capital, expertise, and global networks to help accelerate their ideas into important new treatments for patients. As a listed company, we are able to bring this exciting growth phase of our industry to a broader range of investors. www.arixbioscience.com

 

Disc Medicine Press Release:

 

Disc Medicine Announces Closing of Public Offering of Common Stock and Pre-Funded Warrants Including Full Exercise of Underwriters’ Option to Purchase Additional Shares

 

WATERTOWN, Mass., June 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Disc Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ: IRON) (Disc), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel treatments for patients suffering from serious hematologic diseases, today announced the closing of its underwritten public offering of 3,015,919 shares of its common stock and, in lieu of common stock to certain investors that so chose, pre-funded warrants to purchase 204,081 shares of its common stock. The shares of common stock sold include 420,000 shares pursuant to the option granted by Disc to the underwriters, which option was exercised in full. The shares of common stock were sold at a public offering price of $49.00 per share, and the pre-funded warrants were sold at a public offering price of $48.9999 per pre-funded warrant, which represents the per share public offering price for the common stock less the $0.0001 per share exercise price for each such pre-funded warrant. The aggregate gross proceeds to Disc from this offering were approximately $157.8 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses, excluding the exercise of any pre-funded warrants. All of the securities sold in the offering were offered by Disc.

 

Disc intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund research and clinical development of its current or additional product candidates, as well as for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

Morgan Stanley, SVB Securities, Stifel and BMO Capital Markets acted as joint book-running managers for the offering. Wedbush PacGrow acted as lead manager for the offering.  

 

The securities described above were offered by Disc pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (No. 333-269272) that was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 24, 2023. This offering was made only by means of a prospectus and prospectus supplement that form a part of the registration statement. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus related to the offering has been filed with the SEC and is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to this offering may also be obtained, by contacting: Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014; SVB Securities LLC, Attention: Syndicate Department, 53 State Street, 40th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, telephone: 1 (800) 808-7525 ext. 6105, or by emailing syndicate@svbsecurities.com; Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Attention: Syndicate, One Montgomery Street, Suite 3700, San Francisco, California 94104, telephone: (415) 364‐2720 or by emailing syndprospectus@stifel.com; or BMO Capital Markets Corp., Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 151 W 42nd Street, 32nd Floor, New York, New York 10036, telephone: (212) 702-1101, or by emailing bmoprospectus@bmo.com.

 

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that state or jurisdiction.

About Disc Medicine

 

Disc Medicine (NASDAQ: IRON) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing novel treatments for patients who suffer from serious hematologic diseases. We are building a portfolio of innovative, potentially first-in-class therapeutic candidates that aim to address a wide spectrum of hematologic diseases by targeting fundamental biological pathways of red blood cell biology, specifically heme biosynthesis and iron homeostasis.