Investors
LOS GATOS, Calif., Aug. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARDS), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel anti-infective therapies to treat life-threatening infections, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with a single healthcare-focused institutional investor for the purchase and sale of 4,947,556 shares of the Company's common stock (or common stock equivalents) and warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,473,778 shares of the Company's common stock, at an effective purchase price of $5.053 per share of common stock (or common stock equivalent) and associated warrant, in a registered direct offering priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules. The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about August 4, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
H.C. Wainwright & Co. is acting as the exclusive placement agent for the offering.
The warrants have an exercise price of $5.00 per share, are exercisable immediately and have a term of seven years.
The gross proceeds to the Company from this offering are expected to be approximately $25 million, before deducting the placement agent's fees and other offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for clinical development, working capital and general corporate purposes.
The securities described above are being offered by the Company pursuant to a "shelf" registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-233601) previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on September 3, 2019, and declared effective by the SEC on September 5, 2019. The offering of the securities is made only by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming a part of the effective registration statement. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the securities being offered will be filed with the SEC. Electronic copies of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may be obtained, when available, on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov or by contacting H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC at 430 Park Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10022, by phone at (212) 865-5711 or e-mail at placements@hcwco.com.
This press release shall 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 other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.
About Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discovers and develops anti-infectives to be used as add-on treatments to standard-of-care antibiotics. The Company is utilizing its proprietary ʎPEXTM and MabIgX® technology platforms to rapidly identify rare, potent antibody-producing B-cells from patients who have successfully overcome an infection, and to rapidly manufacture monoclonal antibody (mAbs) for therapeutic treatment of critical infections. These mAbs are already of human origin and functionally optimized for high potency by the donor's immune system; hence, they technically do not require genetic engineering or further optimization to achieve full functionality.
The Company has generated multiple clinical stage mAbs targeting bacteria that cause life-threatening infections such as ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) and hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP), in addition to preclinical stage antiviral mAbs. The use of mAbs as anti-infective treatments represents an innovative therapeutic approach that harnesses the human immune system to fight infections and is designed to overcome the deficiencies associated with the current standard of care which is broad spectrum antibiotics. Such deficiencies include, but are not limited to, increasing drug resistance, short duration of efficacy, disruption of the normal flora of the human microbiome and lack of differentiation among current treatments. The mAb portfolio is complemented by a non-antibiotic novel mechanism small molecule anti-infective candidate being developed to treat lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients. The Company's pipeline is highlighted below:
Aridis' Pipeline
AR-301 (VAP). AR-301 is a fully human IgG1 mAb targeting gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) alpha-toxin and is being evaluated in a global Phase 3 clinical study as an adjunctive treatment of S. aureus ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) currently.
AR-320 (VAP). AR-320 is a fully human IgG1 mAb targeting S. aureus alpha-toxin that is being developed as a pre-emptive treatment of S. aureus colonized mechanically ventilated patients who do not yet have VAP. Phase 3 is expected to be initiated in 4Q21.
AR-501 (cystic fibrosis). AR-501 is an inhaled formulation of gallium citrate with broad-spectrum anti-infective activity being developed to treat chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients. This program is currently in Phase 2a clinical development in CF patients.
AR-712 (COVID-19). AR-712 is a cocktail of fully human mAbs (AR-711 and AR-713) that are directed against the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is formulated for delivery via inhalation using a nebulizer.
AR-401 (blood stream infections). AR-401 is a fully human mAb preclinical program aimed at treating infections caused by gram-negative Acinetobacter baumannii.
AR-701 (COVID-19). AR-701 is a cocktail of fully human mAbs discovered from convalescent COVID-19 patients that are directed at multiple surface proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
AR-101 (HAP). AR-101 is a fully human immunoglobulin M, or IgM, mAb in Phase 2 clinical development targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) liposaccharides serotype O11, which accounts for approximately 22% of all P. aeruginosa hospital acquired pneumonia cases worldwide.
AR-201 (RSV infection). AR-201 is a fully human IgG1 mAb out-licensed preclinical program aimed at neutralizing diverse clinical isolates of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
For additional information on Aridis Pharmaceuticals, please visit https://aridispharma.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "forecast," "estimated" and "intend" or other similar terms or expressions that concern Aridis' expectations, strategy, plans or intentions, including, without limitation, statements regarding the completion of the registered direct offering, the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the registered direct offering and the intended use of net proceeds from the registered direct offering. These forward-looking statements are based on Aridis' current expectations and actual results could differ materially. There are a number of factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, market and other conditions, the need for additional financing, the timing of regulatory submissions, Aridis' ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of its existing product candidates and any other product candidates it may develop, approvals for clinical trials may be delayed or withheld by regulatory agencies, risks relating to the timing and costs of clinical trials, risks associated with obtaining funding from third parties, management and employee operations and execution risks, loss of key personnel, competition, risks related to market acceptance of products, intellectual property risks, risks related to business interruptions, including the outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus, which could seriously harm our financial condition and increase our costs and expenses, risks associated with the uncertainty of future financial results, Aridis' ability to attract collaborators and partners and risks associated with Aridis' reliance on third party organizations. While the list of factors presented here is considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those described or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, without limitation, market conditions and the factors described under the caption "Risk Factors" in Aridis' 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and Aridis' other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date hereof, and Aridis does not undertake any obligation to update publicly such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.
Contact:
Investor Relations
Dave Gentry
Redchip
Dave@redchip.com
1-800-733-2447
SOURCE Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
