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Press Release

CHOSA has carried out a directed issue of SEK 5,58 million to fund KOL-initiated DRP validation studies and to increase business development activities

Apr 03, 2024

The board of CHOSA Oncology AB (publ) ("CHOSA" or the "Company") has today, 3. April 2024, performed a directed issue of 6 070 233 shares at a price of SEK 0,92 per share. The subscription price per share has been set under market conform conditions based upon Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) over a period of 10 trading days up to and including 2. April  2024, which was the last trading day for the share before the Board of Director’s decision on the Directed Issue. This will increase the number of shares from 64 873 913 to 70 944 146.

In anticipation of the Directed Issue, the board has carefully considered the possibility of raising capital through a rights issue but has concluded that a rights issue, in comparison with the Directed Issue, (i) would be significantly more time-consuming and entail considerably higher costs and increased exposure to potential market volatility compared to a directed new issue, and (ii) would likely need to be done at a lower subscription price considering the discount levels that have been seen in the stock market lately. Other alternatives have been considered but either deemed to involve too high costs or not generate sufficient working capital and thus not considered to be in the interest of the Company or its shareholders. Furthermore, the directed issue entails that (i) the Company's shareholder base is broadened with new investors interested in the Company and its development, and (ii) the Company's ownership base is strengthened as a number of existing owners invest further in the Company. The reason why some existing shareholders are allowed to subscribe in the Directed Issue is due to their historical financial support to the Company.
Through the directed issue, CHOSA receives SEK 5,58 million before transaction costs. The company intends to use the net proceeds from the directed issue to start Key Opinion Leader (KOL) initiated DRP validation studies and to further increase its business development activities.

“We are happy to announce the support we have received from a majority of new investors as well as existing investors. Their investment will be a financial supplement for us to 1) substantiate important DRP validation studies in a number of cancer indications 2) intensify our business development activities further and 3) broaden the technology platforms of which our DRP can work. Our primary objective is to attract robust partners or potential buyers for our innovative products,” said CEO, Peter Buhl Jensen.

 

The DRP validation studies are a result of continued strong dialogues with internationally acknowledged cancer doctors so-called Key Opinion Leaders (KOL’s).

 

“We believe using the cisplatin DRP test may lead to significantly more treatment successes also with immunotherapy like PD1 inhibitors when combined with any cisplatin and we believe that by using CHOSA’s liposomal version of cisplatin LiPlaCis® a more gentle and targeted cisplatin treatment can be offered to the patients,” Peter Buhl Jensen further commented.

In two independent lung cancer studies our platin tailored response predictor DRP® can precisely predict who will benefit.  We believe we here have a strong tool to improve cure in platin combinations with immuno checkpoint inhibitors (PD-1 inhibitors) and we now have phase 2b data in metastatic breast cancer patients showing that the  DRP® identify the patients who will benefit from liposomal cisplatin LiPlaCis®. Furthermore, LiPlaCis® has shown significant activity in a population that has undergone numerous treatment shifts, and it appears to have a gentler toxicity profile than conventional cisplatin.

Our goal is to ensure these products reach cancer patients, providing them with the benefits they need. We are confident in the potential of our products and believe they will make a significant impact in the fight against cancer.


This disclosure contains information that Chosa Oncology AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014). The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person, on 03-04-2024 16:31 CET.

 

CHOSA in short
CHOSA Oncology AB is an oncology biotechnology company led by a proven international team with veteran specialists in oncology; drug development; running clinical trials; regulatory expertise; and business development. CHOSA intends to enter into agreements for partnership or sublicensing of LiPlaCis® and the DRP®.

 

About LiPlaCis® and DRP®
CHOSA is focused on late-stage clinical development of LiPlaCis® and its DRP® drug response predictor to which it has worldwide rights.  The cisplatin DRP is the only proven test to foresee and thereby select who to treat and who will benefit from cisplatin. Breast: We have strong phase 2b data in metastatic breast cancer, demonstrating that patients selected by DRP® responded better to treatment; have longer progression-free survival; and maybe even an overall longer total survival than those patients who were identified as unlikely to respond well to the treatment.
Lung: The cisplatin DRP has previously shown its ability to foresee the value of cisplatin therapy in lung cancer. Cisplatin therapy after surgery is a gold standard that increases lung cancer cure, but not always, and until now the doctors do not know who will benefit from cisplatin and who should have something else. This is where the cisplatin DRP is a potential game changer, especially in new neoadjuvant treatment where immunotherapy obtains high efficacy rates when combined with cisplatin doubles. Cisplatin DRP was validated in a blinded retrospective study in two lung cancer patient cohorts receiving cisplatin after surgery to kill remaining tumor cells. Thus, patients with the 10% highest scores had a 3-year survival of 90% whereas the patients with the lowest 10% score had much lower survival with only 40% surviving 3 years1.

 

Immunotherapy There is a new development that adds further value to our DRP. Cisplatin has often been shown to activate the immune system (making cold tumors hot), which makes tumors susceptible to PD1 inhibitors. This synergy is particularly important but not limited to the treatment of lung cancer, bladder cancer, and head and neck cancer. In the ever-growing PD1 inhibitor market, where competition is fierce, our company stands out with the ability to predict if cisplatin will provide synergy with PD1. This can give the PD1 selling companies a significant competitive advantage.

1)  Buhl et al PLOS One doi: 10.1371/journal.pone0194609
DRP® is a registered trademark of Allarity Therapeutics, Inc., and is used under license granted to CHOSA. LiPlaCis is in-licensed from Allarity Therapeutics Ltd (previous Oncology Venture ApS) and LiPlasome Pharma ApS.