Immuron raises $442k in undersubscribed SPP

Immuron (ASX:IMC) has raised just over $442,000 in a share purchase plan (SPP), less than half of the $1 million target.

The immunotherapy-focused biotech commenced the raising in April, to accompany a $1 million private placement. Both the placement and the share purchase plan had a $0.02 per share price tag.

Paterson Securities had been underwriting the SPP for the full $1 million. But Immuron this week revealed that the stock broking and financial services firm had exercised its right to terminate the underwriting “due to market conditions.”

Immuron's share price was consistently higher than the $0.02 offer price in the lead up to the SPP, but has been trading below parity with the offer for most of the time since its launch.

But Immuron CEO, Joe Baini, said the $1.4 million raised in the placement and SPP will still “ensure the company is in a good financial position to continue the momentum for the commercial rollout of Travelan.”

Travelan, an OTC preventative treatment for travellers' diarrhoea, is already being sold in Australia through a marketing agreement with Nycomed Takeda.

And, in November, the company secured an up to $C115 million ($122.2 million) distribution deal for the product with Canada's Paladin Labs, covering Canada, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.

Immuron is in talks with potential licensees in other markets, and has revealed plans to put some of the capital raising's proceeds towards registering Travelan in European and Asian countries, to ensure licensees can receive a market-ready product.

The capital will also be used to fund commercialisation efforts for IMM-124E - a treatment candidate for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and fatty liver disease - including an upcoming phase IIb trial. Immuron received approval from the US FDA to conduct this trial in January.

As of 10am on Tuesday, Immuron (ASX:IMC) shares had been trading at $0.019 since June 7. Baini and chairman Professor Colin Chapman addressed the share price at a shareholder meeting in late May, insisting that the stock's current performance does not reflect Immuron's recent progress.