WINT - Windtree Acquires Early-Stage Novel Oncology Platform and Completes $1.5 Million Convertible Note Bridge Financing | Benzinga
WARRINGTON, Pa., April 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. ("Windtree" or the "Company") (NasdaqCM: WINT), today announced that on April 2, 2024 the Company entered into an asset purchase agreement with Varian Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Varian") to acquire certain of its assets, including a proprietary atypical protein kinase C iota inhibitor (aPKCi). The Company also completed a $1.5 million convertible note bridge financing.
The acquired Varian asset platform is a novel, potential high-potency, specific, aPKCi with possible broad use in oncology as well as certain rare malignant diseases. The asset platform includes two formulations: VAR-101 (topical) and VAR-102 (oral).
In consideration of the purchase of the Varian assets, on April 2, 2024, the Company issued to certain of Varian's creditor investors a total of 5,500 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the "Preferred Shares"), that have an initial conversion price of $0.3603, which is subject to adjustment to no lower than $0.0721. Dividends on the Preferred Shares shall accrue at 10.0% per annum, subject to limited exceptions. With successful development, the Company would pay up to $2.3 million in milestone payments upon the achievement of certain regulatory and clinical development milestones relating to the acquired assets with the Company having the option to pay such milestone payments either in cash or the Company's common stock.
Protein kinase inhibitors are a class of anti-cancer therapeutics that have made a significant impact on the treatment of cancers. Among the kinase targets for further development are the Protein Kinase C ("PKC") family, which are key components of many signaling pathways that drive the formation of cancer. aPKCi is a promising atypical PKC iota isozyme with defined oncogenic role in multiple signaling pathways, and in the initiation and development of multiple tumor types. GLI-1 is a transcription factor at the terminal end of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway, and many other important pathways, including RAS-RAF, TGFb, and P14K-AKT-mTOR. In many tumor types, high levels of GLI-1 expression is a negative prognostic marker. Pre-clinical data of the acquired platform showed dose dependent modulation of basal cell carcinoma cell viability and GLI-1 pathway modulation in vitro, as well as dose dependent anti-tumor activity in xenograft mouse models of non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic ductal carcinoma. The protein kinase inhibitor adds to Windtree's product candidate portfolio of novel pre-clinical and late-stage clinical product candidates and development programs, including SERCA2a activators and programs in out-licensed partnership.
"Completion of the Varian asset acquisition and the bridge financing represents a potentially transformative next step for Windtree. Adding an innovative protein kinase inhibitor that has what we believe is an exciting pre-clinical data package with two formulations in development to our existing portfolio of product candidates creates an additional opportunity for value creation as we advance and look to partner our late and early-stage SERCA2a activator platform, including istaroxime," said Craig Fraser, Chief Executive Officer of Windtree. "We see potential application in both rare and more prevalent tumor types, both in monotherapy and in ...