AUSTIN, Texas, March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Genprex, Inc. ("Genprex" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: GNPX), a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing life-changing therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements for the sale and issuance of 1,542,112 shares of common stock (or prefunded warrants in lieu thereof) of the Company and warrants to purchase up to 1,542,112 shares of common stock at a combined offering price of $4.215 per share of common stock (or per prefunded warrant in lieu thereof) and accompanying warrant, in a registered direct offering priced at-the-market under the Nasdaq rules. The warrants have an exercise price of $4.09 per share, will be exercisable on the date of issuance, and will expire five years following the date of issuance. The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about March 21, 2024, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
H.C. Wainwright & Co. is acting as the exclusive placement agent for the offering.
The gross proceeds to Genprex from this offering are expected to be approximately $6.5 million, before deducting the placement agent's fees and other offering expenses. Genprex intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for working capital and general corporate purposes.
A "shelf" registration statement (File Number 333-271386) relating to the offered securities was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on April 21, 2023 and was declared effective on June 9, 2023. The offering of the securities is being made only by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming a part of an effective registration statement. A prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC. Electronic copies of the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may be obtained, when available, on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or by contacting H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC at 430 Park Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10022, by phone at (212) 856-5711 or e-mail at placements@hcwco.com.
The Company also has agreed to amend certain existing warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 194,248 shares of the Company's common stock that were previously issued to investors in March 2023 and July 2023, with exercise prices of $44.00 and $35.40 per share and expiration dates of March 1, 2028 and July 21, 2028 for $0.125 per amended warrant, effective upon the closing of the offering, such that the amended warrants will have a reduced exercise price of $4.09 per share and an expiration date of five years from the closing of the offering.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
About Genprex, Inc.
Genprex, Inc. is a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing life-changing therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes. Genprex's technologies are designed to administer disease-fighting genes to provide new therapies for large patient populations with cancer and diabetes who currently have limited treatment options. Genprex works with world-class institutions and collaborators to develop drug candidates to further its pipeline of gene therapies in order to provide novel treatment approaches. Genprex's oncology program utilizes its systemic, non-viral Oncoprex® Delivery System which encapsulates the gene-expressing plasmids using lipid nanoparticles. The resultant product is administered intravenously, where it is taken up by tumor cells that then express tumor suppressor proteins that were deficient in the tumor. The Company's lead product candidate, Reqorsa® Immunogene Therapy (quaratusugene ozeplasmid), is being evaluated in three clinical trials as a treatment for NSCLC and SCLC. Each of Genprex's three lung cancer clinical programs has received a Fast Track Designation from the FDA for the treatment of that patient population, and Genprex's SCLC program has received an FDA Orphan Drug Designation. Genprex's diabetes gene therapy approach is comprised of a novel infusion process that uses an AAV vector to deliver Pdx1 and MafA genes directly to the pancreas. In models of Type 1 diabetes, GPX-002 transforms alpha cells in the pancreas into functional beta-like cells, which can produce insulin but may be distinct enough from beta cells to evade the body's immune system. In a similar approach, GPX-003 for Type 2 diabetes, where autoimmunity is not at play, is believed to rejuvenate and replenish exhausted beta cells.
For more information, please visit the Company's web site at www.genprex.com or follow Genprex on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, as amended, including those relating to the completion of the registered direct offering, the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the registered direct offering, the intended use of proceeds from the registered direct offering and other statement that are predictive in nature. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking expressions, including, but not limited to, "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. These statements relate to future events and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include the risk factors set forth in the Company's filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, its periodic reports on Form 10-Q, and its Current Reports on Form 8-K filed in 2023 and 2024, as well as the risks identified in the shelf registration statement and the prospectus supplement relating to the offering. Prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Genprex undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Genprex, Inc.
(877) 774-GNPX (4679)
GNPX Investor Relations
investors@genprex.com
GNPX Media Contact
Kalyn Dabbs
media@genprex.com
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SOURCE Genprex, Inc.
