Novelos Therapeutics Completes Acquisition And $5.1 Million Financing To Develop 3 Novel Cancer-Targeted Compounds

Novelos Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB: NVLT), a pharmaceutical company developing novel drugs for treatment and diagnosis of cancer, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Cellectar, Inc., a Wisconsin-based drug development company, in a stock-for-stock transaction. Cellectar shareholders received as consideration shares of Novelos common stock constituting approximately 85% of the outstanding shares of Novelos common stock post-acquisition, or 17,001,638 shares of Novelos common stock, after giving effect to a 1 for 153 reverse stock split effected by Novelos following the close of market on April 8, 2011. Immediately following the acquisition, Novelos sold units consisting of an aggregate of 6,846,537 shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase an aggregate of 6,846,537 shares of its common stock, for gross proceeds of $5,134,903. Each unit consists of one share of common stock at $0.75 per share and a warrant to purchase one share of common stock. The warrants have an exercise price of $0.75 per share and expire in March 2016. The financing was led by Venture Investors LLC with participation from existing and new investors. We paid aggregate cash fees of $450,000 to financial advisors in connection the acquisition, and placement agent fees consisting of $200,000 in cash and a warrant to purchase 192,931 shares of common stock, at an exercise price of $0.75 per share, in connection with the financing. The units and the shares issued in connection with the acquisition were issued in private placements pursuant to exemptions under Regulation D of the Securities of Act of 1933. None of the securities have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws. Novelos has agreed to register the resale of the shares of common stock, and the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of warrants, issued in the private placement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Novelos will continue to develop Cellectar’s three novel cancer-targeted compounds, which are selectively taken up and retained in cancer cells (including cancer stem cells) versus normal cells. COLD, a cancer-targeted chemotherapy that we expect to enter clinical trials late in 2012, works primarily through Akt inhibition. HOT is a small-molecule, broad-spectrum, cancer-targeted radiopharmaceutical that delivers radiation directly and selectively to cancer cells and cancer stem cells. We believe HOT has first-in-class potential, and we expect it to enter a Phase 1b dose escalation trial in the third quarter of this year and Phase 2 trials in mid-2012 in monotherapy for solid tumors with significant unmet medical need. LIGHT is a small-molecule cancer imaging agent. We believe LIGHT also has first-in-class potential and expect it to enter Phase 1/2 clinical trials middle of this year.

1 2 3 4 Next › Last »