Fennec Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of PEDMARK (a formulation of sodium thiosulfate) for the prevention of platinum-induced ototoxicity in pediatric patients with localized, non-metastatic solid tumors, amended its existing senior debt facility with the life sciences group at Bridge Bank, increasing the size of the facility from $18 million to $20 million.
More specifically, the U.S. operating subsidiary of Fennec Pharmaceuticals entered into a second amendment to the 2019 loan and security agreement with Bridge Bank. This amendment provides Fennec with a $20 million debt facility comprised of three term loans. Term loan A consists of $5 million to be funded upon closing. Term loan B consists of $7.5 million to be funded upon new drug application (NDA) approval of PEDMARK in the U.S. Term loan C consists of $7.5 million to be funded upon the occurrence of a revenue event in 2022.
The interest-only period for the facility has the ability to be extended from 18 months to 24 months from the funding of term loan B, provided that term loan C is funded and certain conditions are met.
Fennec Pharmaceuticals intends to use the proceeds from the loans to provide working capital for commercial readiness activities prior to NDA approval as well as commercialization activities for PEDMARK, if approved.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently accepted for filing the resubmission of Fennec Pharmaceuticals’ NDA for PEDMARK and set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date for Nov. 27.
“We are pleased to announce this loan amendment to secure up to $20 million in credit financing with Bridge Bank, a premier lending institution with a broad scope of services,” Robert Andrade, CFO of Fennec Pharmaceuticals, said. “This credit facility provides a potentially meaningful extension of our cash runway, allowing continued support of our commercial strategy. We believe our senior debt facility will be a valuable financial tool and provides additional flexibility to further unlock the opportunities for PEDMARK.”
“Bridge Bank is pleased to continue our partnership with Fennec and provide flexible debt capital to support its upcoming commercialization activities for PEDMARK, which has the potential to address an important unmet medical need for the prevention of ototoxicity in children receiving cisplatin chemotherapy,” Lauren Cosentino, vice president in Bridge Bank’s life sciences group, said.
