Hana Biosciences is a company that is clearly moving in the right direction. The company’s lead product candidate, Marquibo, has been developed to help all cancer patients battle the deadly disease and with news released today, the concept has a great deal of backing.
The young California Company announced there is a definite agreement in place with accredited investors to sell units consisting of common stocks and warrants which will result in total cash proceeds of $12.4 million the closing of which is expected to occur prior to October 9th with Piper Jaffray and Co. serving as exclusive place agent for the transaction.
The net proceeds of this offering will be used to support the completion of the pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial of Marquibo in adult patients with Philadelphia Chromosome negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and lymphoblastic lymphoma in second relapse or who failed two prior lines of treatment. The proceeds will also support Hana’s planned regulatory activities related to Marqibo including New Drug Application preparation and submission.
The investor group is led by a select segment of experienced life sciences investors among which include OrbiMed Advisors LLC and Perceptive Life Sciences Master Fund Ltd. These strong institutional investors are a tell-tale sign that Hana Biosciences may be on to something that can change the face of the institution.
Hana is led by Steven R. Deitcher who is a renowned name in his field with more than 185 journal papers, abstracts and book chapters and 35+ scientific conference presentations. He was the founding editor-in-chief of the journal.
When asked about the agreement, Mr. Deitcher was quoted as saying, “We are pleased with the support Hana has received from the highly respected institutional investors who participated in this financing, as it reflects their belief in Marqibo, the benefit this product may have for patients suffering from ALL, and Hana’s ability to execute as planned.”
Currently, Hana Biosciences is trading in the $0.55 range. With this continued movement towards cancer treatment and institutional investors starting to take notice, Hana may be a sleeping giant.
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