Viracta Therapeutics, a precision oncology company primarily focused on targeting virus-associated malignancies, entered into a loan and security agreement with Silicon Valley Bank and Oxford Finance for up to $50 million. In connection with the $50 million credit facility, Viracta and SVB agreed to terminate the company’s prior $15 million loan and security agreement and the existing $5 million debt balance was refinanced. Under this new $50 million credit facility, the remaining $45 million is available in two additional tranches of $20 million and $25 million. Viracta is under no obligation to draw funds in the future.
“This expanded credit facility increases our financial strength and provides the company with significant strategic and operational flexibility by securing access to a non-dilutive and immediately available financing option that carries an attractive single-digit cost of capital,” Dan Chevallard, COO and CFO at Viracta Therapeutics, said. “We appreciate SVB’s continued support, are pleased to welcome the Oxford team to Viracta and believe broadening the relationship at this time offers external validation in addition to valuable access to capital that could potentially support our future prospects and corporate strategy.”
“We are excited to expand our already strong relationship with Viracta and partner with the Oxford team,” Michael White, national head of business development and managing director for Silicon Valley Bank’s life sciences and healthcare practice, said. “We believe Viracta is well-positioned to advance towards multiple value-creating inflection points, with the initiations of its pivotal NAVAL-1 trial and its Phase 1b/2 solid tumor trial, as well as the progress of its preclinical pipeline.”
“Viracta’s platform technology has enabled broad applicability in a variety of EBV positive cancers and has the potential to create therapies for other virus-related cancers through its inducible, synthetic lethality approach,” Christopher A. Herr, senior managing director at Oxford Finance, said. “Oxford is happy to enter this partnership with SVB and support Viracta’s focus on advancing new medicines for the treatment of virus-associated malignancies.”
