SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Anesiva,
Inc. (Nasdaq: ANSV), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on pain
management, announced that it has successfully secured a term loan for up to
$30 million. The financing was led by Oxford Finance Corporation, and was
co-funded by CIT Healthcare LLC and Compass Horizon Funding Company LLC. The
first tranche of $20 million is available to the company immediately, and the
second tranche of $10 million will be available upon the achievement of
certain conditions by Anesiva.
'This loan agreement reflects confidence in the value of Anesiva's core
assets: Zingo, which is marketed in the U.S., to reduce pain associated with
peripheral IV insertions and blood draws in children ages 3 to 18, and Adlea,
which is in late-stage clinical trials for the management of acute pain
following orthopedic surgery,' said Michael L. Kranda, president and chief
executive officer of Anesiva. 'It is an important step in our plans to finance
the company and support commercially-focused growth and expansion in the
specialty pharmaceutical pain management space.'
'Oxford is pleased to arrange and lead this transaction,' said J. Alden
Philbrick, president and chief executive officer of Oxford Finance
Corporation. 'We strongly believe in Anesiva's product portfolio and
management team and appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the growth of
the company.'
On September 30, 2008, Anesiva received an initial $20 million tranche.
An additional $10 million will become available subject to clinical and
financial milestones. The loan repayment is interest-only through the end of
June 2009, followed by a 30-month repayment period. In connection with the
loan, the company has granted the lenders warrants to purchase an aggregate of
up to approximately 1.8 million shares of the company's common stock at
approximately $1.68 per share.
Proceeds from the loan will fund repayment of $10.7 million pursuant to
Anesiva's equipment financing loan from GE Capital Corporation and provide
operating funds for the company.
As of June 30, 2008, Anesiva had $48.7 million in cash, cash equivalents
and short-term investments.
About Oxford Finance Corporation
Oxford Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, is a
specialty finance firm providing senior secured loans to public and private
life science companies worldwide. For 20 years, Oxford has delivered flexible
financing solutions to its clients, enabling these companies to maximize their
equity by leveraging their assets. In recent years, Oxford has originated over
$1 billion in loans, with lines of credit ranging from $500 thousand to $30
million. Oxford is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, with additional
offices in California and Massachusetts. For more information, visit
http://www.oxfordfinance.com.
About CIT
CIT (NYSE: CIT) is a global commercial finance company that provides
financial products and advisory services to more than one million customers in
over 50 countries across 30 industries. A leader in middle market financing,
CIT has more than $70 billion in managed assets and provides financial
solutions for more than half of the Fortune 1000. A member of the S&P 500 and
Fortune 500, it maintains leading positions in asset-based, cash flow,
Healthcare and Small Business Administration lending, equipment leasing,
vendor financing and factoring. The CIT brand platform, Capital Redefined,
articulates its value proposition of providing its customers with the
relationship, intellectual and financial capital to yield infinite
possibilities. Founded in 1908, CIT is celebrating its Centennial throughout
2008. For additional information, please go to http://www.cit.com
About Horizon
Horizon Technology Finance Management is a privately-held independent
venture debt finance company that provides senior and subordinated venture
debt financing solutions to venture capital-backed technology and life science
companies through its affiliated investment finance company Compass Horizon
Funding Company LLC. The Horizon team has provided over $2 billion in
financing to more than 750 venture capital-backed technology and life science
companies over a span of 20 years. Horizon provides a compelling alternative
to the restrictive structures offered by banks and corporate finance
companies. Horizon's team has over 150 years of collective venture and
commercial lending experience and uses its extensive knowledge, expertise and
industry relationships to provide custom venture debt products and financing
solutions for its customers. Horizon has offices in Farmington, CT and the
San Francisco, CA area. For more information, please visit
http://www.horizontechfinance.com.
About Anesiva and its Diverse Pipeline of Pain Products
Anesiva, Inc. is a commercial-stage specialty pharmaceutical company that
seeks to be a leader in the development and commercialization of novel
pharmaceutical products for pain management. The company's first commercial
product, Zingo(TM) (lidocaine hydrochloride monohydrate 0.5 mg) powder
intradermal injection system, is available in the U.S. for the reduction of
pain associated with peripheral venous access procedures in children ages
three to 18. For full Zingo prescribing information and other information,
visit http://www.zingo.com. An application is under FDA review to expand the
Zingo label indication to include adults.
The next product in Anesiva's pipeline, Adlea(TM), is currently being
evaluated in multiple clinical trials for the management of acute pain
following orthopedic surgeries. Adlea has been shown in Phase 2 trials to
reduce pain after only a single administration for weeks to months in multiple
indications for site-specific, acute and chronic, moderate-to-severe pain.
Anesiva is based in South San Francisco, CA. For more information about
Anesiva's leadership in the development and commercialization of products for
pain management, and an overview of the clinical opportunities being addressed
by its product candidates, go to http://www.anesiva.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes 'forward-looking statements' within the
meaning of the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 'plan,' 'will,' 'seek' and similar
expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements in this press release include matters that involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially
from results expressed or implied by this press release. Such risk factors
include, among others: whether Zingo gains FDA approval in the adult
indication, Anesiva's ability to estimate and address customer demand for
Zingo, the degree to which Zingo gains market acceptance, potential delays in
the commencement and enrollment of Adlea clinical trials and whether the Adlea
clinical development program will support FDA approval for the management of
acute pain following orthopedic surgeries. Actual results may differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements in this
press release. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors
is contained in Anesiva's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2007, and its most recent filing on Form 10-Q.
SOURCE Anesiva, Inc.
