Verona Pharma Secures Debt Facility Of Up To $400 Million

(RTTNews) - Verona Pharma plc (VRNA) on Tuesday announced that its unit Verona Pharma, Inc. has entered into a debt financing with Oxford Finance LLC and Hercules Capital, Inc. (HTGC) to the tune of up to $400 million.

The debt facility is expected to support and fund the commercial launch of ensifentrine, a first-in-class product candidate which is being reviewed by the FDA for the maintenance treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The latest debt facility replaces the existing facility of up to $150 million with an affiliate of Oxford.

Under the terms, the company has already drawn $50 million, and can draw an additional $100 million upon approval of ensifentrine. It can further draw $150 million in two separate tranches upon achievement of certain net sales milestones as well as another $100 million to support strategic initiatives.

In return, the company will only pay interest for the first 53 months with the outstanding principal to be amortized over the subsequent seven months.

On closing of the debt facility, the $20 million drawn and fees will be paid to Oxford. On Friday, Verona shares closed at $19.88, down 1.39% on the Nasdaq.