Vor Bio, a clinical-stage cell and genome engineering company, has secured approximately $55.6 million in gross proceeds through a private investment in public equity financing (PIPE). This financing involves issuing over 55.8 million shares of common stock and warrants to purchase nearly 70 million additional shares at a combined price of $0.99425 per share and accompanying warrant. The warrants, exercisable for seven years post-closing, carry an exercise price of $0.838 per share and could generate up to $58.5 million in additional gross proceeds if exercised in cash.
New investor Reid Hoffman spearheads the PIPE and includes participation from existing investor RA Capital Management, Vor Bio’s largest stockholder. Both Mr. Hoffman and RA Capital Management will gain a board seat and a board observer seat as part of the agreement. The investment underscores the potential of Vor Bio’s trem-cel therapy, a CRISPR/cas9-based treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This therapy edits patients’ bone marrow and shows promise in early data, offering a potential breakthrough in treating this aggressive cancer.
Stifel acted as the sole placement agent for the PIPE, which is anticipated to close on December 30, 2024, pending customary closing conditions. Vor Bio plans to allocate the net proceeds toward clinical and preclinical development of its pipeline candidates and general corporate purposes. This funding extends the company’s cash runway, allowing continued development of its promising therapies.
Vor Bio anticipates releasing updated clinical data from two key trials in 2025. Data from the Phase 1/2 VBP301 trial of VCAR33ALLO is expected in the first half of the year, followed by data from the Phase 1/2a VBP101 trial of trem-cel in combination with Mylotarg in the second half.
Jon Napitupulu is Director of Media Relations at The Clinical Trial Vanguard. Jon, a computer data scientist, focuses on the latest clinical trial industry news and trends.