DAC Beachcroft supports Open Orphan PLC on £12 million fundraising to support COVID-19 vaccine developers, and ramp up COVID-19 antiviral testing capacity.

Published 8 junio 2020

DAC Beachcroft’s Corporate Finance team has advised Open Orphan PLC, a rapidly growing specialist CRO pharmaceutical services company which has a focus on orphan drugs and is the world leader in the testing of vaccines and antivirals using human challenge study models, on its successful fundraising of £12 million (net of expenses) conducted on 22 May 2020.

Partner Jonathan Deverill and Solicitor Florina Thenmayer in DAC Beachcroft’s Corporate Finance team advised on the fundraising, which was oversubscribed.

The net proceeds of the Fundraising will be used to:

• Accelerate the development of both a seasonal coronavirus and a COVID-19 virus challenge study model to support the demand from COVID-19 vaccine developers globally. These challenge study models have the ability to speed up the development of a vaccine by 2-3 years.
• Ramp up COVID-19 antiviral testing to the Group's current capacity for 3,000 tests per day.
• Expand existing laboratory testing services to 3rd party pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
• Strengthen the company’s balance sheet to enable Open Orphan to take advantage of the significant and growing opportunities the company believes are available.

Jonathan Deverill, partner and lead on the project, comments: “This is the third key project we have supported Open Orphan on, following our advice on their successful takeover offer for Hvivo, announced on 9 December 2019, and earlier work - for their financial adviser and broker, Arden Partners PLC - on the merger with Venn Life Sciences last summer. With the current focus on finding solutions to COVID-19, it’s an exciting time for the company and we’re delighted the fundraising was so well received.”