(AOF) – GenSight Biologics, a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases of the retina and central nervous system, announces that it has signed a subscription agreement for an amount of 12 million euros in the form a bond issue convertible into shares with the American fund Heights Capital.
“A few weeks after the announcement of a conditional loan of 35 million by the EIB, this new financing will not only allow us to draw the first tranche of 8 million euros, but also to secure an additional 12 million under new conditions. dilutive for our shareholders, despite particularly difficult market conditions,” said Thomas Gidoin, Chief Financial Officer of GenSight.
“These bonds are convertible with a premium of 30% on the current price, and redeemable in shares with a maximum discount of 15% on the current price, with the possibility of redeeming in cash. These conversion conditions greatly limit the risk of dilution for shareholders.”
AOF – LEARN MORE
Find out more about the “pharmacy” sector
Loss of speed in European research
European research is losing ground to American and Chinese research. In twenty years, Europe’s share has fallen from 41% to 31% in global R&D. China’s share jumped from 1% to 8%. As for the United States, which supplanted Europe, in 2001 it devoted only 2 billion euros per year more than Europe to R&D, whereas now this gap has reached 25 billion! Some experts accuse the European authorities of not having deployed effective policies. The financing of pharmaceutical research should therefore have been better targeted via the “Horizon 2020” programme. France only comes in eighteenth position in European funding despite the quality of its research. Conversely, the United States concentrates funding on Boston and a few centers of excellence.