THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES
OF ARTICLE 7 OF EU REGULATION 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF DOMESTIC
LAW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
(WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT
VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION WILL
BE CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Graft Polymer (UK)
Plc
("Graft Polymer" or the
"Company")
18 July
2024
Completion of
operational
review and commercial collaboration with Awakn Life Sciences
Corp.
On 2 May 2023, Graft Polymer (UK)
Plc (LON: GPL) announced the initiation of a review of the
Company's operations and on 7 June 2024, provided a progress update
disclosing that the Board was evaluating a shortlist of five
entities for potential future commercial collaboration.
The Company is pleased to announce
that, following the completion of this review, it has selected
Awakn Life Sciences Corp. (CSE:AWKN OTCQB:AWKNF) ("Awakn") as the
partner for the Company's first commercial collaboration (the
"Collaboration") and the parties have on 17 July 2024 entered into
a collaboration agreement (the "Collaboration
Agreement").
Details on the Collaboration
Awakn is a clinical-stage
biotechnology company developing small molecule therapeutics for
substance use and mental health disorders with a near-term focus on
alcohol use disorder ("AUD"). The
Collaboration is focused on developing Awakn's novel aminoindane
new chemical entity ("NCE") series programme which has potential in
trauma-related mental health disorders.
The Collaboration marks the
beginning of an alliance between the Company and Awakn which it is
hoped will create significant value for the shareholders of both
companies.
The directors of Graft Polymer
believe that the combined know-how surrounding drug delivery
systems and small molecule therapeutics for substance use and
mental health disorders between the Company and Awakn will enable
the development of innovative therapeutics for the large
addressable market for trauma related mental health disorders in
the US and key international markets.
Awakn's aminoindane NCEs are novel
small molecule empathogens with potential in trauma related mental
health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder ("PTSD"),
which affects approximately 13 million[1] adults
in the US and approximately 20 million[2, 3, 4] in the
US and key international markets.
As set out in the Prospectus, the
use of proceeds of the fundraise included seeking investments
in partnerships with the
research and development organisations. The key commercial terms of
the Collaboration Agreement are that
the Company will pay to Awakn £300,000 ("Initial
Payment"), which will be deployed by Awakn as working capital and
used to complete certain pre-clinical actions to progress the
programme and enhance the bioavailability and improve the
pharmacokinetics of the above mentioned novel aminoindane NCEs at
the sole discretion of Awakn.
In consideration for the Initial
Payment, the Company shall be entitled to 40% of the future net
income generated by Awakn's aminoindane NCE programme
("Participating Interest")
The programme will be led by Awakn's
Chief Scientific Officer, the globally renowned neuroscientist and
psychiatrist, Prof. David Nutt.
Directors' Interest in the Transaction
The Company's CEO, Mr. Anthony
Tennyson, also serves as CEO of Awakn. To mitigate any potential
conflict of interest, Mr. Tennyson recused himself from the
Company's final selection process and negotiation of the
Collaboration Agreement, which was led by Nicholas Nelson. The
independent directors of the Company, being Nicholas Nelson and
Yifat Steuer, considered the necessary information and concluded
the terms of the transaction to be fair and reasonable, and that it
would be in the interest of the Company to enter into the
agreement.
Nicholas Nelson, Chairman, Graft Polymer,
commented:
"Today's Collaboration Agreement aligns perfectly with Graft
Polymer's objective of leveraging its existing drug delivery system
to enhance the effectiveness of therapeutic
treatments.
"We believe our investment and expertise will promote the
success of Awakn's novel aminoindane NCE programme, potentially
making a substantial positive impact on the treatment of trauma
related mental health disorders. We look forward to updating the
market on developments in the weeks ahead."
Prof David Nutt, CSO Awakn Life Sciences Corp,
commented:
"This Collaboration is a significant step forward for our new
chemical entity programme. Graft Polymer's expertise in drug
delivery systems will be invaluable as we advance our
research.
"We are confident that this partnership will accelerate the
development of new therapeutic options for addiction and mental
health, areas in desperate need of innovative
solutions."
Enquiries
Graft Polymer (UK) Plc
Anthony Tennyson, CEO and Executive
Director, Email: anthonytennyson@graftpolymer.co.uk
Yifat Steuer, CFO and Executive
Director, Email: yifat@graftpolymer.co.uk
Allenby Capital (Broker)
Nick Naylor / Liz Kirchner
(Corporate Finance) | Guy McDougall (Sales)
+44 (0) 20 3328
5656
Additional disclosures in relation to the Collaboration
Agreement
Any and all rights (including
intellectual property rights), title, and interest in or to any and
all of the products created pursuant to this agreement, and all
enhancements, improvements and modifications thereto, and including
work product, materials, information or intellectual property,
including, without limitation, reports, technical data or studies,
other information or data, documents, plans, information, know-how,
customer information, and other materials of any kind, other than
the Company's intellectual property owned prior to the agreement or
acquired independently of this agreement, used or produced by
either party in connection with the agreement, shall be the
exclusive property (and confidential information) of
Awakn.
Following the Initial Payment, the
Company shall be responsible for 50% of any future funding
requirements.
In the event that the Company fails
to pay its 50% share of any costs in respect of the project under
the agreement, the Company's Participating Interest will be reduced
and Awakn's participating interest will be increased
proportionally.
In the event that Awakn becomes
insolvent, makes a general assignment for the benefit of its
creditors, files or has filed against it a petition in bankruptcy
which is not dismissed within 90 days, the Company's Participating
Interest shall automatically and immediately be increased to 95%
and Awakn's participating interest shall be reduced to
5%.
If within the three years from the
date of the agreement, Awakn enters into a binding agreement to
complete a change of control transaction, Awakn may immediately
terminate the agreement upon payment to the Company of a
termination payment.
About Graft Polymer (UK) Plc
Graft Polymer (UK) Plc (LON: GPL) is
an innovative developer of biopolymer drug delivery systems
dedicated to assisting biopharmaceutical companies in enhancing the
effectiveness of their therapeutics. Our proprietary patented
platform, a bioabsorbable self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system
(SNEDDS), represents a cutting-edge solution in drug delivery
technology. By integrating active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)
into our novel, patented delivery systems, we enable clients to
improve the bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, and stability of
their therapeutics.
www.graftpolymer.co.uk
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About Awakn Life Sciences Corp
Awakn Life Sciences Corp. (CSE:AWKN,
OTCQB:AWKNF) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing
therapeutics targeting substance use and mental health disorders.
Awakn has a near-term focus on Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), a
condition affecting approximately 29 million adults in
the US and approximately 40 million in the US and key
European for which the current standard of
care is inadequate. Our goal is to provide breakthrough
therapeutics to addiction sufferers in desperate need and our
strategy is focused on commercialising our R&D pipeline across
multiple channels.
www.awaknlifesciences.com |
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Sources
1. US VA
National Center for PTSD. US Department of Veterans
Affairs.
2. UK
National Health Service (NHS), Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey:
Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2014.
3. Maercker,
A., Forstmeier, S., Wagner, B. et al. Posttraumatische
Belastungsstörungen in Deutschland. Nervenarzt 79, 577-586
(2008).
4. Nemeroff,
Charles B., and others, 'Trauma and PTSD in Europe', in
Charles B. Nemeroff, and Charles Marmar (eds), Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (New York, 2018; online
edn, Oxford Academic, 1 Sept. 2018)