This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No 596/2014.

Cambridge, UK and Indianapolis, US –  1 June 2020: Acacia Pharma Group plc (“Acacia Pharma”, the “Group” or the “Company”) (EURONEXT: ACPH), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel products to improve the care of patients undergoing serious medical treatments such as surgery, invasive procedures or chemotherapy, announces an amendment to the terms of its loan agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cosmo Pharmaceuticals N.V. (“Cosmo”).

Under the terms of the amendment, the €10 million loan facility that was made available on the approval of BARHEMSYS® is terminated and replaced with a €10 million equity investment at a price of €3.112 per share, which represents an approximately 4.1% premium to the closing share price on 29 May 2020 and equates to 3,213,769 shares to be issued to Cosmo. In addition, a further 367,893 shares are being issued to Cosmo (at an equity subscription price of €2.99 per share) in satisfaction of a €1,100,000 break fee payable under the terms of the loan amendment. The €25 million loan facility, which will be made available by Cosmo on the approval of BYFAVO™ has not been affected by this transaction.

Mike Bolinder, CEO of Acacia Pharma, said “We greatly appreciate the flexibility and strong show of support from our strategic partner, Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, which strengthens our balance sheet as we prepare to begin commercialization later this year.”

Alessandro Della Chà, CEO of Cosmo, said ““We strongly believe that Acacia Pharma has the potential of becoming a leading player in its field. In order to do so the company must be well financed. By moving from debt to equity we contribute towards the strengthening of Acacia Pharma’s financial structure and will now have an equity stake of 18.5% in the company.”

Application will be made to Euronext Brussels for the admission of 3,581,662 Ordinary Shares of £0.02 each (the “New Ordinary Shares”) to begin trading on Euronext Brussels ("Admission”). The New Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's existing Ordinary Shares in issue. Admission to listing is expected on 4 June 2020.

Following issue of the New Ordinary Shares, the Company's total issued share capital will consist of 67,855,918 Ordinary Shares with one voting right per share. The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in Treasury. Therefore, following the issue of the New Ordinary Shares, the total number of voting rights in the Company will be 67,855,918.

Contacts

Acacia Pharma Group plc

Mike Bolinder, CEO
Gary Gemignani, CFO
Ali Elsley, Company Secretary
+44 1223 919760 / +1 317 505 1280 / +44 1223 919765
IR@acaciapharma.com

Citigate Dewe Rogerson (Financial PR)
Mark Swallow, Frazer Hall, David Dible
+44 20 7638 9571
acaciapharma@citigatedewerogerson.com

About Acacia Pharma

Acacia Pharma is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel products to improve the care of patients undergoing serious medical treatments such as surgery, invasive procedures, or chemotherapy. The Company has identified important and commercially attractive unmet needs in these areas that its product pipeline aims to address.

Acacia Pharma's lead product, BARHEMSYS® (intravenous amisulpride) is approved in the US for the treatment and prophylaxis of postoperative nausea & vomiting (PONV), with US launch planned for H2 2020. 

BYFAVO™ (intravenous remimazolam), an ultra-short-acting and reversible sedative/anesthetic for use during invasive medical procedures, such as colonoscopy and bronchoscopy, is in-licensed from Cosmo Pharmaceuticals for the US market. The NDA for BYFAVO has been filed with the US FDA and the target PDUFA action date is now 5 July 2020. 

APD403 (intravenous and oral amisulpride), a selective dopamine antagonist for chemotherapy induced nausea & vomiting (CINV) has successfully completed one proof-of-concept and one Phase 2 dose-ranging study in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy.

Acacia Pharma is based in Cambridge, UK and its US operations are centered in Indianapolis, IN. The Company is listed on the Euronext Brussels exchange under the ISIN code GB00BYWF9Y76 and ticker symbol ACPH. 

www.acaciapharma.com  

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