Advanced Viral Research Corp. Receives $20 Million Equity Line of Credit; Financing for Planned IND Applications to the FDA for 'Product R'
YONKERS, N.Y.--(BW HealthWire)--Sept. 27, 2000--Advanced Viral Research Corp. (OTCBB: ADVR) today announced that it has signed a financing contract for a $20 million equity line of credit. Under the financing contract, a private investor has committed up to $20 million to purchase shares of Advanced Viral Research Corp. Common Stock. The financing will help fund planned Investigational New Drug (IND) submissions to the FDA for the company's flagship non-toxic drug, "Product R." The financing was arranged by New York-based investment banking firm, The May Davis Group.
The May Davis Group will provide ongoing financial consulting and investment banking services to Advanced Viral Research Corp. The May Davis Group (MDG) is a full-service financial services firm focusing on the needs of small to medium-sized companies, individual investors, and institutional money managers worldwide. MDG is actively involved in investment banking and strategic financial advising, institutional and retail brokerage, over-the-counter trading and equity research.
"We expect that this substantial financing -- our company's largest to date -- will bring us one step closer to fulfilling our mission of placing Product R into the hands of the millions of patients who are suffering from a variety of debilitating and sometimes deadly diseases for which Product R may provide effective and non-toxic therapy," said Dr. Shalom Z. Hirschman, MD, president and CEO of Advanced Viral Research Corp. "We plan to aggressively pursue the continued development of Product R and the rich chemistry of this peptide nucleic acid."
Mr. Robert Farrell, senior vice president of the Capital Markets Division of May Davis, stated, "We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to play a role in supporting the efforts of Advanced Viral Research Corp. in its quest to bring Product R to market. We look forward to working with Advanced Viral Research Corp., and providing both advisory and investment banking services to help the company grow and achieve its important mission for the benefit of mankind."
Beginning on the date the SEC declares effective a registration statement covering the resale of the shares issuable under the financing contract, and for 30-months thereafter, Advanced Viral Research Corp., may, at its discretion, sell or "put" shares of the Company's Common Stock at a price per share equal to the average of the three lowest bid prices for the Common Stock over a 25-day trading period, ending on the date the Company elects to draw on the equity line. The maximum aggregate sales price to be paid to the Company for shares, which may be sold by the Company to the investor at any one time, is limited to between $100,000 and $2,000,000, depending on the volume of trading in the Common Stock over a 25-day trading period preceding the draw.
Advanced Viral Research Corp. also issued to certain designees of The May Davis Group five year warrants to purchase an aggregate of 5,000,000 shares for $1.00 per share. Additional five year warrants to purchase an aggregate of 5,000,000 shares become exercisable to certain designees of The May Davis Group (pro rata based on the sales price for the shares actually sold by the Company to the investor) only if and when shares are sold under the equity line. The exercise price for such warrants is the greater of $1.00 or 110% of the bid price of the Common Stock on the date the Company elects to draw down on the equity line.
Advanced Viral Research Corp. is developing Product R as a broad-spectrum, non-toxic immunomodulator and anti-viral drug. In both clinical and laboratory studies, Product R has shown promise for the treatment of viral infections such as AIDS and human papilloma virus, and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. Additional findings demonstrate that Product R inhibits the growth of adenovirus in cell culture. Adenovirus infections cause epidemic conjunctivitis ("pink eye"), upper and lower respiratory illness and gastroenteritis.
Advanced Viral Research Corp. laboratory studies have also shown that Product R inhibits the production of both the CCR5 and CXCR4 chemokine receptors, the key cellular co-receptors for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Shalom Z. Hirschman, M.D., joined Advanced Viral Research Corp. as president and CEO following a 28-year affiliation with The Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and The Mt. Sinai Hospital. He spent seven years at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD; he has been published in many peer-reviewed journals, including THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, NATURE and SCIENCE, and founded one of New York City's first and most active AIDS treatment and research centers.
ABOUT ADVANCED VIRAL RESEARCH CORP.
Advanced Viral Research Corp., based in Yonkers, New York, is a biopharmaceutical firm committed to researching, developing and bringing to market new, effective therapies for viral and other diseases, which will lead to the alleviation of human suffering and diseases worldwide. Its flagship drug, Product R, is a non-toxic peptide nucleic acid immunomodulator, with direct anti-viral effects against select viruses such as adenovirus and human papilloma virus, that has been shown to have beneficial therapeutic effects against viral diseases such as AIDS and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.
Note: This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks associated with clinical development, regulatory approvals (including application to the FDA), product commercialization, risks associated with the conditions precedent to the equity line of credit not being satisfied, and other risks described from time to time in the SEC reports filed by ADVR. Product R is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any comparable agencies of any other countries.
CONTACT: Bratskeir & Company
Mike Rosen, 212/679-2233 ext. 213
mrosen@bratskeir.com |
