iX Biopharma has been awarded a US$40.95 million development contract by the US Department of Defense to fund the development of Wafermine®, its patented sublingual ketamine wafer for the treatment of acute moderate to severe pain.
The contract was awarded to iX Biopharma under a sole-source procurement process and represents a significant international validation of Singapore-developed pharmaceutical innovation, the company says.
“It is a recognition of the group’s drug development expertise and our ability to translate innovation into solutions for real-world medical challenges," says executive chairman and CEO Eddy Lee.
To fund the delivery of this contract, iX Biopharma plans to raise $6 million by placing out new shares at 19.8 cents each, which is a discount of 7.1% to the volume weighted average price of 21.31 cents for trades done on Feb 10, the day before a trading halt was called.
iX Biopharma says the contract will run on a cost-reimbursable basis, which means it has to incur project-related costs upfront such as clinical trials before it is reimbursed.
