Under the terms of the agreement, Juvenescence will purchase, in a single transaction, 14.4 million shares of AgeX Therapeutics from BioTime for $43.2 million.
50% of the purchase price will be paid to BioTime in cash and the remaining 50% will be a 2-year convertible/redeemable note with an annual interest rate of 7%, payable at maturity.
BioTime Co-CEO Adi Mohanty said: “This transformative agreement is an important step in BioTime’s strategy of simplification and unlocking value for BioTime shareholders.
“It also provides BioTime with significant non-dilutive funding while allowing our shareholders to benefit from the potential future success of AgeX and Juvenescence. We are thrilled to partner with Juvenescence, which is a world class organization with a proven and seasoned team of experts in drug development, strategy, commercialization and finance.”
BioTime remains committed to unlocking further value for its shareholders and continues to move forward with its planned distribution of AgeX shares to BioTime shareholders as previously communicated.
Juvenescence CEO Greg Bailey said: “BioTime and AgeX have been trail blazers in regenerative medicine. The assets they have created with their lead scientist and the CEO of AgeX Mike West are remarkable, both for the unique qualities of their programs, but also for the breadth of cell lines and IP.
“Furthermore, we feel it is a great fit with the Juvenescence team of drug developers and scientists. First and foremost, we look forward to developing and bringing products to the patients as novel treatments to potentially offset some of the maladies of getting old.”
Juvenescence management, through their previous roles in pharmaceutical companies with marketed products, have taken multiple products to commercialization with annual peak sales aggregating well over $70 billion.
Juvenescence has, in its short existence, already sourced and created a pipeline of exciting therapeutic candidates, all of which have the potential to positively modify aging.
Company: Press Release.