SoftOx Solutions has secured commitments from selected shareholders to participate in a warrant consortium for a rights issue of NOK 22.5 million at a subscription price of NOK 0.02, according to a stock exchange announcement on Tuesday.
According to the company, the issuance will provide sufficient funding to plan, set up and manage a process to raise funding for a Phase 2 clinical “proof of concept” study for the treatment of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).
Co-founder leaves
The Board of Directors has unanimously approved the issue and will call an extraordinary general meeting before the end of July. The issue will be completed by August 24, and the subscription rights will be negotiable.
The market reacts by sending the stock down 36 percent to NOK 0.10.
According to a separate announcement from the exchange, following the issuance, SoftOx will be restructured, refocused and set a new strategic path forward. Meanwhile, co-founder Jair Almas announced his resignation as chairman of the company.
– SoftOx is now out of financial trouble. “This is the right time for me to step back and let the new team lead the company through further clinical studies and commercialization,” he says in a comment.
It has been bleeding for a long time.
SoftOx Solutions has been bleeding cash for a long time, and the ongoing restructuring program contributed to a loss of over NOK 21 million in the first quarter of this year. This comes on top of over NOK 42 million in 2023.
In its first quarter report, SoftOx reiterated the message from the previous quarter.
He added: “The company has limited liquidity, and needs to strengthen itself financially and in terms of liquidity in the short and long term.”
SoftOx’s creditors, including bondholders and key employees, agreed in the first quarter to convert their outstanding amount of NOK 76.2 million into shares in the company. In addition, NOK 22.3 million was raised in the issue, divided into NOK 14 million for the conversion of trade payables and NOK 8.3 million in cash.
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Ulrik Spork has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors and is in the process of selecting “further qualified candidates” who could join the Board of Directors. Over the course of more than 25 years, Danske Spork has been Chairman or Board Member of more than 30 early-stage life science companies, many of which are still active today. At the same time, he is active in two investment funds that invest in private equity/venture funds.
Spork has held leadership positions at Novo Group and was, among other things, business development manager at Novo Nordisk. The latter is now Europe's largest listed company and last week soared to an “all-time high” after the approval of the weight-loss drug Wegovy in China. On Tuesday, the company was priced at DKK 3.420 billion, equivalent to NOK 5.250 billion.
Furthermore, Thomas Bjarnsholt has been appointed as the new CEO of SoftOx Solutions. He has been an advisor to SoftOx since 2017 and the company’s Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) since 2022.
Bjarnsholt has appointed Ingrid Juven as CFO after Harald Sætvedt left.
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