Full Press Release Details
Biotherapeutics, Inc. Files Registration Statement for Underwritten
MENLO PARK, Calif. & ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--December 2,
2013--Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc., a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc.
(NYSE MKT: BTX), announced today that Asterias has filed a registration
statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an
underwritten public offering of up to $15,000,000 of units with each
unit consisting of one share of Series B common stock and one redemption
right. The shares of Series B common stock and redemption rights will
immediately be freely tradable as separate securities. The number of
units to be sold and the price range for the proposed offering have not
yet been determined.
The offering will be made through Burrill Securities LLC.
Asterias plans to use the net proceeds of the offering to fund its
product development programs and for working capital. Asterias intends
to apply to list the Series B common stock on the NYSE MKT under the
Each redemption right will entitle the holder to sell a share of common
stock to Asterias during a redemption period that will commence 30 days
prior to the third anniversary of the closing of the offering and that
will end on that third anniversary date. If a share is redeemed through
the exercise of a redemption right, Asterias will pay the shareholder
either an amount of cash, or common shares, no par value, of its parent
company BioTime, Inc. ("BioTime") with a value equal to the initial
public offering price of the units, or a combination of cash and BioTime
common shares. The decision whether to pay the redemption price in cash
or BioTime shares or a combination of cash and shares will be made by
Asterias in its discretion. The redemption rights will expire on the
earlier of (a) the third anniversary of the closing of the offering, and
(b) the earliest date, if any, on which the closing price of the
Asterias common stock as reported on a national securities exchange, or
the OTC Bulletin Board, has been at least 150% of the redemption price
for 10 consecutive trading days.
A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become
effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be
accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.
This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to buy these securities; nor shall there be any
offer or sale of any of these securities in any State in which an offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or
qualification under the securities laws of any such State.
The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the
preliminary prospectus related to the offering may be obtained, when
available, by contacting Robert W. Peabody, Chief Financial Officer, at
510-521-3390, ext. 302 or by email at rpeabody@biotimemail.com.
Asterias Biotherapeutics is a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc., whose mission
is to acquire and develop best in class cell therapy product candidates.
Our first acquisition was the stem cell assets of Geron Corporation,
which was completed on October 1, 2013. That acquisition includes
Geron's entire cell therapy intellectual property portfolio, existing
contracts and license agreements related to their stem cell programs,
INDs for OPC1 and VAC1 cell therapies, master cell banks of hESCs and
therapeutic cells manufactured under cGMP, research cell banks,
customized reagents and equipment, and banks of cGMP-manufactured OPC1
drug product used in Geron's Phase 1 trial in spinal cord injury, the
world's first human clinical trial of hESC-derived cells.
Asterias has acquired four cell lines, each with animal proof of
concept, from which multiple therapeutic product candidates may be
selected for development indications in the fields of neurology
(including OPC1 for spinal cord injury), oncology (including VAC1
autologous dendritric cells), orthopedics, and cardiovascular therapy.
Asterias Biotherapeutics will be part of the BioTime family of companies
that now own a large and diverse stem cell patent portfolio, as well as
a unique collection of cGMP-manufactured therapeutic cells and validated
cell banks, placing it among today's leaders in regenerative medicine.
BioTime is a biotechnology company engaged in research and product
development in the field of regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine
refers to therapies based on stem cell technology that are designed to
rebuild cell and tissue function lost due to degenerative disease or
injury. BioTime's focus is on pluripotent stem cell technology based on
human embryonic stem ("hES") cells and induced pluripotent stem ("iPS")
cells. hES and iPS cells provide a means of manufacturing every cell
type in the human body and therefore show considerable promise for the
development of a number of new therapeutic products. BioTime's
therapeutic and research products include a wide array of proprietary PureStem
progenitors, HyStem hydrogels, culture media,
and differentiation kits. BioTime is developing Renevia (a HyStem
product) as a biocompatible, implantable hyaluronan and collagen-based
matrix for cell delivery in human clinical applications. In addition,
BioTime has developed Hextend , a
blood plasma volume expander for use in surgery, emergency trauma
treatment and other applications. Hextend is
manufactured and distributed in the U.S. by Hospira, Inc. and in South
Korea by CJ CheilJedang Corporation under exclusive licensing agreements.
BioTime is also developing stem cell and other products for research,
therapeutic, and diagnostic use through its subsidiaries:
OncoCyte Corporation is developing products and technologies to
diagnose and treat cancer.
ES Cell International Pte Ltd., a Singapore private limited company,
develops hES products for research use.
OrthoCyte Corporation is developing therapies to treat orthopedic
disorders, diseases and injuries.
ReCyte Therapeutics, Inc. is developing therapies to treat a variety
of blood and lymphatic vascular disorders, as well as products for
research using iPS and other cell reprogramming technology.
Cell Cure Neurosciences Ltd. is an Israel-based biotechnology company
focused on developing stem cell-based therapies for retinal and
neurological degenerative diseases. Its lead product is OpRegen
for the treatment of macular degeneration.
LifeMap Sciences, Inc. markets, sells and distributes GeneCards ,
the leading human gene database, as part of an integrated database