Full Press Release Details
NEURORX, INC. AND BIG ROCK PARTNERS ACQUISITION CORP.
COMMITTED $10 MILLION PIPE TO SUPPORT PROPOSED BUSINESS
Wilmington, DE and Delray Beach, FL March 15, 2021
NeuroRx, Inc. ( NeuroRx ), a clinical
stage-small molecule pharmaceutical company and Big Rock Partners
Acquisition Corp. ( Big Rock ) (NASDAQ:
BRPA), a special purpose acquisition
company, are pleased to announce that institutional investors have
committed to a private investment of $10 million in the form of one
million shares of common stock of the combined company at a price
of $10.00 per share (the PIPE ), which will close
concurrently with the previously announced proposed business
combination between NeuroRx and BRPA.
The PIPE transaction will provide the combined company with the
capital resources to better enable it to accelerate product
development of its drug portfolio.
On December 14, 2020, NeuroRx and BRPA announced that they had
entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger for a
business combination that would result in NeuroRx becoming a
wholly-owned subsidiary of BRPA, and with the NeuroRx shareholders
receiving shares of BRPA. Upon the closing of the transaction, BRPA
will change its name to NeuroRx, Inc. , and it is
expected that its common stock and public warrants will be listed
on the NASDAQ. The combined company will continue to operate under
the current NeuroRx management team, led by Chief Executive
Officer, Jonathan C. Javitt, MD, MPH. The proposed business
combination, if approved by the stockholders of BRPA and NeuroRx,
is currently expected to close in Q2 2021.
NeuroRx draws upon more than 100 years of collective drug
development experience and is led by former senior executives of
Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca, PPD. In
addition to its work on RLF-100, NeuroRx has been awarded
Breakthrough Therapy Designation and a Special Protocol Agreement
to develop NRX-101 in suicidal bipolar depression and is currently
in Phase 3 trials. Its executive team is led by Prof. Jonathan C.
Javitt, MD, MPH, who has served as a health advisor to four
Presidential administrations and worked on paradigm-changing drug
development projects for Merck, Allergan, Pharmacia, Pfizer,
Novartis, and Mannkind, together with Robert Besthof, MIM, who
served as the Global Vice President (Commercial) for Pfizer's
Neuroscience and Pain Division. Its Board of Directors and Advisors
includes Hon. Sherry Glied, former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Dept.
of Health and Human Services; Mr. Chaim Hurvitz, former President
of the Teva International Group, Lt. Gen. HR McMaster, the 23rd
National Security Advisor, Wayne Pines, former Associate
Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Judge
Abraham Sofaer, and Daniel Troy, former Chief Counsel, U.S. Food
and Drug Administration.
About Big Rock Partners Acquisition Corp.
Big Rock Partners is a blank check company formed for the purpose
of entering into a merger, stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock
purchase, recapitalization, reorganization, or other similar
business combination with one or more businesses or entities. Big
Rock Partners' management team includes Richard Ackerman, Chairman,
President, and Chief Executive Officer, and Bennett Kim, Chief
Financial Officer, Chief Investment Officer, Corporate Secretary
and Director. Big Rock's securities are quoted on the Nasdaq
Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols NASDAQ: BRPA, BRPAU, BRPAR
Additional Information and Where to Find It
Big Rock intends to file a registration statement
( Registration Statement ), which will include a proxy
statement for the solicitation of Big Rock shareholder approval and
a prospectus for the offer and sale of Big Rock securities in the
transaction, and other relevant documents with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ( SEC ) to be used at its special
meeting of shareholders to approve the proposed transaction with
NeuroRx. The proxy statement will be mailed to shareholders as of a
record date to be established for voting on the proposed business
combination. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF BIG ROCK AND NEURORX
ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, PROXY STATEMENT,
PROSPECTUS AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE
SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE
BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED
TRANSACTION. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain
free copies of the registration statement, proxy statement,
prospectus and other documents containing important information
about Big Rock and NeuroRx once such documents are filed with the
SEC, through the website maintained by the SEC at
Additional Information Posted to Website
Big Rock will post information regarding the proposed transaction
investor presentation will also be furnished promptly by Big Rock
to the SEC on a current report on Form 8-K, which can be viewed at
the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and
intends to use its website as additional means of disclosing
information to investors, the media, and others interested in Big
Rock. It is possible that certain information that Big Rock posts
to its website could be deemed material information, and Big Rock
encourages investors, the media, and others interested in Big Rock
to review the business and financial information that Big Rock
posts on its website as such information could be deemed to be
material information.
Participants in the Solicitation
Big Rock, NeuroRx, and EBC and their respective directors and
executive officers, under SEC rules, may be deemed to be
participants in the solicitation of proxies of Big Rock's
shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Investors
and securityholders may obtain more detailed information regarding
the names and interests in the proposed transaction of Big