Harmony Biosciences And Blackstone Enter Into Strategic Financing Collaboration

Financing Strengthens Harmony's Balance Sheet

Provides Access to Additional Capital for Business Development Opportunities

Reduces Annual Interest Expense

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. and NEW YORK, Aug. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Harmony Biosciences Holdings, Inc. ("Harmony") (Nasdaq: HRMY), a pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative therapies for patients with rare neurological diseases, and Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced that they have entered into a strategic financing collaboration where funds managed by Blackstone have agreed to provide Harmony with up to $330 million of financing and growth capital.

"We are pleased to partner with Blackstone, one of the world's leading investment firms with strong transactional experience in life sciences and healthcare," said John C. Jacobs, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harmony Biosciences. "This financing provides us with further flexibility to grow our business by providing us with access to capital to expand our portfolio of assets in rare, neurological diseases while also reducing our annual interest expense."

Commenting on the arrangement, Craig Shepherd, Senior Managing Director with Blackstone Life Sciences, and Brad Marshall, Senior Managing Director with Blackstone Credit, said, "This transaction demonstrates our unique ability to combine deep domain expertise and flexible scale capital in the life sciences, helping to grow companies like Harmony as they optimize their capital structure and fund initiatives that develop important treatments for patients. We are strongly motivated by the Harmony team's track record of success in developing and commercializing its important medicine WAKIX® (pitolisant)."

The strategic financing collaboration with Blackstone includes up to $300 million in debt capital and a $30 million equity investment in Harmony common stock. The $300 million of debt capital includes a senior secured term loan facility in aggregate original principal amount of $200 million, and a $100 million senior secured delayed draw term loan facility that is available to be drawn within 12 months of closing, subject to the terms of the facility. Substantially all of the proceeds from the initial $200 million term loan and the related sale of Harmony's common stock were used to pay off Harmony's existing debt facility, together with the payment of fees and expenses, resulting in a significantly lower cost of capital.

Paragon Health Capital, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., and Raymond James served as financial advisors to Harmony. Hogan Lovells US LLP served as legal advisor to Harmony and Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal advisor to Blackstone.

About Blackstone Life Sciences

Blackstone Life Sciences is an industry-leading private investment platform with capabilities to invest across the life cycle of companies and products within the key life science sectors. By combining scale investments and hands-on operational leadership, Blackstone Life Sciences helps bring to market promising new medicines and medical technologies that improve patients' lives. More information is provided at www.blackstone.com/our-businesses/life-sciences/.

About Blackstone Credit

Blackstone Credit is one of the world's largest credit-focused asset managers, with $174 billion in AUM. We seek to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our clients by investing across the entire corporate credit market, from public debt to private loans. Blackstone Credit capital supports a wide range of companies across sectors and geographies, enabling businesses to expand, invest, and navigate changing market environments. More information is provided at www.blackstone.com/our-businesses/credit/.

Blackstone is the world's largest alternative investment firm with $684 billion of assets under management.

About Harmony Biosciences

Harmony Biosciences is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, PA. The Company was established by Paragon Biosciences, LLC, with a vision to provide novel treatment options for people living with rare neurological diseases who have unmet medical needs. For more information on Harmony, please visit the company's website: www.harmonybiosciences.com.

About WAKIX® (pitolisant) Tablets

WAKIX, a first-in-class medication, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness or cataplexy in adult patients with narcolepsy and has been commercially available in the U.S. since Q4 2019. It was granted orphan drug designation for the treatment of narcolepsy in 2010, and breakthrough therapy designation for the treatment of cataplexy in 2018. WAKIX is a selective histamine 3 (H₃) receptor antagonist/inverse agonist. The mechanism of action of WAKIX is unclear; however, its efficacy could be mediated through its activity at H₃ receptors, thereby increasing the synthesis and release of histamine, a wake promoting neurotransmitter. WAKIX was designed and developed by Bioprojet (France). Harmony has an exclusive license from Bioprojet to develop, manufacture and commercialize pitolisant in the United States.