NEW YORK, Feb. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuvation Bio
Inc., a biopharmaceutical company tackling some of the greatest
unmet needs in oncology by developing differentiated and novel
therapeutic candidates, today announced the completion of its
business combination with Panacea Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: PANA), a
special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by EcoR1
Capital. The resulting combined company will commence trading its
shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker
symbol "NUVB" on February 11,
2021.
The business combination was approved by Panacea's shareholders
on February 9, 2021 and was
previously approved by Nuvation Bio shareholders. Nuvation Bio's
management team will lead the combined company, with founder
David Hung, M.D., serving as chief
executive officer. Nuvation Bio will have a total cash position of
approximately $830 million after
transaction costs, including approximately $646 million held in Panacea's trust account and
received in concurrent private financings led by EcoR1 Capital, as
well as 683 Capital, Ally Bridge Group, Avidity Partners, Deerfield
Management Company, Irving Investors, Monashee Investment
Management LLC, OrbiMed, Wellington Management and other existing
Nuvation Bio shareholders including The Baupost Group, Boxer
Capital of the Tavistock Group, Fidelity Management & Research
Company, LLC, Omega Funds, Perceptive Advisors, Redmile Group and
Surveyor Capital (a Citadel Company).
"We are dedicated to finding new treatments for patients with
the most difficult-to-treat cancers, and our strategy, together
with the capital raised from the successful completion of this
transaction, positions us well to continue advancing our deep
pipeline of novel and mechanistically distinct oncology therapeutic
product candidates," said Dr. Hung. "We thank EcoR1 Capital, our
investor syndicate and our Board of Directors for sharing and
supporting our vision. Together with the entire Nuvation Bio team,
we look forward to maintaining an unwavering commitment to
transformative science and medicine and to impacting the lives of
patients in need."
"While progress and innovation have led to great advances in
cancer treatment, patients fighting a number of the most
difficult-to-treat cancers remain deeply underserved. We are
proud to partner with Nuvation Bio and believe it is uniquely well
equipped for success with its highly experienced team, promising
pipeline and versatile technology platform," said Oleg Nodelman, chairman and chief executive
officer of Panacea. "We look forward to the rapid development of
Nuvation Bio's programs and are confident in their potential to
advance treatment for these cancers, delivering value to patients,
their families and all stakeholders."
Nuvation Bio is advancing six compounds in its wholly-owned
pipeline, which include a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor
program, a bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) inhibitor program,
a Wee1 inhibitor program, an A2a adenosine receptor
inhibitor program and a drug-drug conjugate (DDC) platform that to
date has yielded investigational compounds targeting hormone-driven
cancers such as prostate, breast and ovarian cancers. Patient
recruitment and dosing is ongoing in Nuvation Bio's Phase 1/2 study
of its lead investigational compound, NUV-422, a CDK2/4/6
inhibitor, in patients with high-grade gliomas, including
glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Nuvation Bio anticipates submitting
up to five additional Investigational New Drug (IND) applications
to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by 2026 for
therapies targeting some of the most difficult-to-treat solid and
hematologic cancers.
Summary of the Transaction
On October 20, 2020, Nuvation Bio, a privately held
biotechnology company, entered into a definitive business
combination agreement with Panacea Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: PANA),
a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) sponsored by EcoR1
Capital that was created for the purpose of entering into a
business combination with a biopharmaceutical company and bringing
the combined entity to the NYSE.
As a result of the business combination, Nuvation Bio has a
total cash position of approximately $830
million after transaction costs, which includes
approximately $144 million held in
Panacea's trust account and $502
million from concurrent private financings led by EcoR1
Capital, as well as 683 Capital, Ally Bridge Group, Avidity
Partners, Deerfield Management Company, Irving Investors, Monashee
Investment Management LLC, OrbiMed, Wellington Management and other
existing Nuvation Bio shareholders including The Baupost Group,
Boxer Capital of the Tavistock Group, Fidelity Management &
Research Company, LLC, Omega Funds, Perceptive Advisors, Redmile
Group and Surveyor Capital (a Citadel Company).
A more detailed description of the terms of the transaction has
been provided in a proxy statement/prospectus filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by Panacea on January 20, 2021.
Advisors
Jefferies acted as lead capital markets and
financial advisor to Nuvation Bio. BMO Capital Markets, BTIG, RBC
Capital Markets and Wedbush PacGrow also acted as advisors to
Nuvation Bio. Cooley acted as legal counsel to Nuvation Bio. Cowen
acted as financial advisor to Panacea and private placement agent.
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom acted as legal counsel to
Panacea.
About Nuvation Bio
Nuvation Bio is a biopharmaceutical
company tackling some of the greatest unmet needs in oncology by
developing differentiated and novel therapeutic candidates.
Nuvation Bio's proprietary portfolio includes six novel and
mechanistically distinct oncology therapeutic product candidates,
each targeting some of the most difficult-to-treat types of cancer.
Nuvation Bio was founded in 2018 by biopharma industry veteran
David Hung, M.D., who previously
founded Medivation, Inc., which brought to patients one of the
world's leading prostate cancer medicines. Nuvation Bio has offices
in New York and San Francisco. For more information, please
visit www.nuvationbio.com.
About Panacea
Panacea was a blank check company formed
for the purpose of effecting a business combination with one or
more businesses with a focus on the biotechnology sector. Panacea
was led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Oleg Nodelman, Chief Financial Officer
Scott Perlen, Chief Operating
Officer Scott Platshon and Chief
Investment Officer Caroline
Stout.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included
in this press release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor
provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are sometimes
accompanied by words such as "believe," "may," "will," "estimate,"
"continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "should," "would,"
"plan," "predict," "potential," "seem," "seek," "future," "outlook"
and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or
trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
statements regarding Nuvation Bio's business strategy, cash
resources, current and prospective product candidates, planned
preclinical activities, clinical trials, IND and other regulatory
filings and potential product approvals, and the potential for
market acceptance of any approved products and the related market
opportunity. These statements are based on various assumptions,
whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current
expectations of the respective management team of Nuvation Bio and
are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking
statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not
intended to serve as, and must not be relied on as, a guarantee, an
assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or
probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or
impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual
events and circumstances are beyond the control of Nuvation Bio.
These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks
and uncertainties, including those factors discussed in the proxy
statement/prospectus filed with the SEC on January 20, 2021, under the heading "Risk
Factors," and other documents that Nuvation Bio has filed or
will file, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or
Nuvation Bio's assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could
differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking
statements. There may be additional risks that Nuvation Bio does
not presently know, or that Nuvation Bio currently believes are
immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ from
those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition,
forward-looking statements reflect Nuvation Bio's expectations,
plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of
this press release. Nuvation Bio anticipates that subsequent events
and developments will cause Nuvation Bio's assessments to change.
However, while Nuvation Bio may elect to update these
forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Nuvation
Bio specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These
forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as
representing Nuvation Bio's assessments of any date subsequent to
the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should
not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.
Nuvation Bio Investor Contact:
Joseph Rayne
Argot Partners
ir@nuvationbio.com
Nuvation Bio Media Contact:
Leo Vartorella
Argot Partners
leo@argotpartners.com
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SOURCE Nuvation Bio Inc.