Freeline Therapeutics Holdings plc (Nasdaq: FRLN) (the “Company” or “Freeline”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing transformative AAV-mediated gene therapies for people with inherited systemic debilitating diseases, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Freeline’s majority shareholder, Syncona Portfolio Limited, a subsidiary of Syncona Limited, and certain other existing shareholders to purchase an aggregate of $26.1 million of its American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”), each representing one ordinary share of the Company, at a price of $1.05 per ADS, in a registered direct offering.
The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about March 15, 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Freeline intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to fund activities relating to the continued development of its product candidates and gene therapy platform and for other general corporate purposes. As a result of this offering, the Company expects its level of cash and cash equivalents will enable the Company to fund its operating expenses into the third quarter of 2023. The Company has engaged Wedbush Securities Inc. as its financial advisor in connection with the offering.
The securities described above will be offered by the Company pursuant to an effective “shelf” registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-259444) previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on September 10, 2021 and declared effective by the SEC on September 22, 2021. The securities may be offered only by means of a written prospectus and prospectus supplement that form a part of the registration statement. The prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering contain important information relating to the ADSs. The prospectus supplement will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov, or may be obtained, when available, by contacting Freeline Therapeutics Holdings plc, c/o Freeline Therapeutics, Inc., Attn: Investor Relations, 915 Broadway, Suite 1005, New York, New York 10010, or by email at investor@freeline.life.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell nor the solicitation of an offer to buy, 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 the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
In any member state of the European Economic Area (the “EEA”) this announcement and any offering are only for distribution to and directed at persons who are “qualified investors” (“Qualified Investors”) within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, as amended. In the United Kingdom, this announcement and any offering are only for distribution to and directed at qualified investors within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law in the United Kingdom by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”), (ii) are high net worth entities who fall within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order, or (iii) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons being referred to as “relevant persons”).
This announcement must not be acted on or relied on (i) in the United Kingdom, by persons who are not relevant persons, and (ii) in any member state of the EEA, by persons who are not Qualified Investors. Any investment or investment activity to which this announcement relates is available only to and will only be engaged with (i) in the United Kingdom, relevant persons, and (ii) in any member state of the EEA, Qualified Investors.
About Freeline Therapeutics Holdings plc
Freeline is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing transformative adeno-associated virus (“AAV”) vector-mediated systemic gene therapies. The Company is dedicated to improving patient lives through innovative, one-time treatments that provide functional cures for inherited systemic debilitating diseases. Freeline uses its proprietary, rationally designed AAV vector, along with novel promoters and transgenes, to deliver a functional copy of a therapeutic gene into human liver cells, thereby expressing a persistent functional level of the missing or dysfunctional protein into the patient’s bloodstream. The Company’s integrated gene therapy platform includes in-house capabilities in research, clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization. The Company has clinical programs in Hemophilia B, Fabry disease, and Gaucher disease Type 1. Freeline is headquartered in the UK and has operations in Germany and the US.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements that express the Company’s opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results, in contrast with statements that reflect historical facts. In some cases, you can identify such forward-looking statements by terminology such as “anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “plan,” “seek,” “project” or “expect,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could” or “should,” the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to the Company, and you should not place undue reliance on such statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to many risks and uncertainties, including the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and consummation of the offering; the Company’s recurring losses from operations; the uncertainties inherent in research and development of the Company’s product candidates, including statements regarding the timing of initiation, completion and the outcome of clinical studies or trials and related preparatory work and regulatory review, regulatory submission dates, regulatory approval dates and/or launch dates, as well as risks associated with preclinical and clinical data, including the possibility of unfavorable new preclinical, clinical or safety data and further analyses of existing preclinical, clinical or safety data; the Company’s ability to design and implement successful clinical trials for its product candidates; the recent departures of a number of executive officers of the Company, and the Company’s ability to fill open positions, implement an orderly transition process and retain key talent; whether the Company’s cash resources will be sufficient to fund the Company’s foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for the Company’s expected timeline; the potential for a pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of infectious diseases in the US, UK or EU, including the COVID-19 pandemic, to disrupt and delay the Company’s clinical trial pipeline; the Company’s failure to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of its product candidates; the fact that results obtained in earlier stage clinical testing may not be indicative of results in future clinical trials; the Company’s ability to enroll patients in clinical trials for its product candidates; the possibility that one or more of the Company’s product candidates may cause serious adverse, undesirable or unacceptable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval or limit their commercial potential; the Company’s ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of its product candidates; the Company’s limited manufacturing experience, which could result in delays in the development, regulatory approval or commercialization of its product candidates; and the Company’s ability to identify or discover additional product candidates, or failure to capitalize on programs or product candidates. Such risks and uncertainties may cause the statements to be inaccurate and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. The Company cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will be realized. Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could vary materially from past results and those anticipated, estimated, or projected. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. A further list and description of risks, uncertainties and other matters can be found in the Company’s prospectus supplement to be filed with the SEC, including the documents incorporated by reference therein, which include the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021 and the Company’s other periodic reports filed with the SEC. Many of these risks are outside of the Company’s control and could cause its actual results to differ materially from those it thought would occur. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. The Company does not undertake, and specifically declines, any obligation to update any such statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any such statements to reflect future events or developments, except as required by law. For further information, please reference the Company’s reports and documents filed with the SEC. You may review these documents by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
IR Contact:
investor@freeline.life
Media Contact:
Arne Naeveke, PhD
Vice President, Head of Corporate Communications
arne.naeveke@freeline.life
+1 617 312 2521