Alchemia SPP raises $2.75m

Alchemia (ASX:ACL) has raised $2.75 million in a heavily oversubscribed share purchase plan (SPP). The company launched the SPP in March to accompany a $10.2 million placement to institutional investors in Australia and the US.

Alchemia revealed that shareholders submitted applications to buy new shares worth more than $9.5 million. As a result, existing participating shareholders with over 100 shares will receive just over 30% of the amount they applied for.

The oversubscribed SPP means Alchemia has raised more than the $12.2 billion it had been seeking in the capital raising round. The majority of the proceeds will be put towards helping fund the company’s phase III trial of cancer drug HA-Irinotecan in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Alchemia completed recruitment for this trial in March and aims to be able to report top-line data from the study in early 2014.

Alchemia chairman Dr Mel Bridges said the oversubscription demonstrates that shareholders are confident in the near- and short-term potential of HA-Irinotecan - a combination of popular chemotherapy drug irinotecan with hyaluronic acid. Alchemia produced the treatment using its HyACT cancer drug platform.

The company is planning to spin off its oncology business into a stand-alone company, Audeo Oncology, but was last year forced to abandon a demerger and US IPO for the unit due to lack of interest.

Alchemia shares were trading unchanged at $0.34 as of around 1.30 pm on Friday.