Cizzle Biotechnology (LON:CIZ), the UK-based diagnostics developer, has announced that it has conditionally raised gross proceeds of £350,000 (before expenses of £17,500) by way of the issue of 16,666,667 new Ordinary Shares at 2.1p per share with new and existing Investors.
Use of Proceeds
· The funds raised from the Subscription will be used, inter alia, to provide working capital for the Company’s strategy and to:
o Continue development of a laboratory-developed test (“LDT”) accredited service for the early detection of lung cancer.
o Progress the Company’s proprietary CIZ1B biomarker blood test through to UKCA, CE marking and/or FDA 510(k) clearance and;
o Commence development of its Point of Care rapid test for use in doctors’ offices and pharmacies.
Variation to £500,000 Loan Facility
Pursuant to its facility agreement with E3 Fund SP entered into on 20 September 2022 and amended on 21 April 2023, the Company and the Investor are pleased to announce they have agreed to vary the terms of the Facility to enable the Subscription to proceed at a premium to the fixed repayment price of the Facility of 1.8p per share.
The Facility has been extended until 8 December 2024 and will be drawable in tranches of not less than £100,000 as requested by the Company or the Investor. The first drawdown will be made available to the Company following Shareholder Approval at the Company’s next General Meeting to allot a further 23,809,524 new Ordinary Shares. Repayment of the Facility is to be by way of issue and allotment of new Ordinary Shares in the capital of the Company at a new fixed price equal to the Issue Price of 2.1p per share.
Commenting, Allan Syms, Executive Chairman of Cizzle Biotechnology, said:
“Cizzle continues to make excellent progress in developing its laboratory test for CIZ1B. Through refining our test we are now at a stage when we can commence work on our point of care test for use in doctors’ offices and healthcare outlets such as pharmacies. The funds raised from the Subscription and converting the Facility in full will provide continued momentum in bringing our proprietary novel technologies for detecting lung and other cancers at an early stage to thereby potentially preventing suffering and saving many lives.
Background
The Group is developing a blood test for the early detection of lung cancer. Its proof-of-concept prototype test is based on the ability to measure a stable blood plasma biomarker, a variant of CIZ1. CIZ1 is a naturally occurring cell nuclear protein involved in DNA replication, and the targeted CIZ1B variant is highly correlated with early-stage lung cancer.
Published research led by Professor Coverley has demonstrated that CIZ1B can be measured with high sensitivity via an ELISA process, which should allow for testing in a high-throughput, hospital-friendly format. The Directors believe that this development overcomes an important barrier to further clinical development and the application of this blood test for the early detection of lung cancer, which is essential to improve a patient’s chance of survival.
In addition to implementing a strategy to develop a regulatory approved commercial, diagnostic laboratory immunoassay for early-stage lung cancer, the Group has broadened its interests to include the detection of a range of other early-stage cancers. While the first product is expected to be a laboratory based test the company is now ready to commence development of a point of care test provided by a primary health care provider.
Admission of the New Ordinary Shares
Application will be made for the 16,666,667 Subscription Shares to be admitted to the Official List of the FCA by means of a standard listing under Chapter 14 of the Listing Rules (“Standard Listing”) and to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. It is expected that Admission will become effective and that unconditional dealings will commence on the London Stock Exchange at 8.00 a.m. on 20 June 2023. The New Ordinary Shares will be eligible for CREST settlement and settlement of transactions in the Subscription Shares may take place within the CREST system if a Shareholder so wishes. The Subscription Shares will represent 5.0% of the Enlarged Share Capital.
The New Ordinary Shares will not be dealt on any other recognised investment exchange and no application has been or is being made for the Subscription Shares to be admitted to any other such exchange.
Total Voting Rights
Following Admission of the New Ordinary Shares, the total number of Ordinary Shares in issue will be 330,781,120 each with equal voting rights. The Company does not hold any rights in treasury. The total voting rights figure can be used by Shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine whether they are required to notify their interest in, or a change of their interest in, the Company under the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.
