Osborne Clarke advises finnCap and WG Partners on £11.5M Destiny Pharma fundraising

International legal practice Osborne Clarke has advised finnCap Ltd and WG Partners LLP on the successful £11.5 million equity fundraising for AIM-quoted Destiny Pharma plc, the clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel products to prevent life threatening infections.

Destiny Pharma will use the net proceeds of the fundraising to acquire the global rights to NTCD-M3, a Phase III ready asset for the prevention of C. difficile infection recurrence. The funds will also enable the completion of Phase III clinical trial preparations (primarily chemistry, manufacturing and controls) and clinical planning as well as providing additional working capital.

C. difficile (CDI) is the leading cause of hospital acquired infection in the US and poor treatments lead to recurrence. In the US, there are approximately 500,000 cases of CDI each year; 25% of these initial cases then recur leading to 29,000 deaths per year.

The placing and subscription have conditionally raised approximately £9.5 million, before expenses, and Destiny also intends to further raise up to approximately £2 million through an open offer.  The fundraising is conditional upon shareholder approval.

finnCap, acted as Destiny Pharma's nominated adviser and finnCap and WG Partners acted as joint brokers and joint bookrunners in connection with the fundraising.

The Osborne Clarke team that advised finnCap and WG Partners on the transaction was led by Partners Jonathan King and Matthew Edwards who were assisted by Senior Associate Ed Nisbet and Associate Stuart Miller.

Osborne Clarke’s Corporate team, which is Band 1 ranked for Capital Markets: AIM by Chambers, is considered a go-to practice for many companies, working with global businesses to fast-growth start-ups and market challengers, particularly in the life science and healthcare sector. The team advises at every stage of company development across all corporate issues, from equity and debt fundraisings to M&A, IPOs and JVs.