Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (OTCQB: RCPI), a clinical-stage drug development company focused on the application of its lead compound to treat acute and chronic inflammatory conditions, announced today that the Company has entered into interim amendments to the Company's convertible notes, as it continues its pursuit of additional or alternative strategic financing options.
Interim Amendment to Convertible Notes:
Management has recently engaged in discussions with its convertible note holders to modify certain provisions of the convertible notes issued by the Company in October 2015. In an effort to help alleviate short term market selling pressure and also provide the Company with a release of $500,000 in cash from its control accounts, the Company and each convertible note holder have agreed on July 7, 2016 to an interim amendment to each convertible note.
Under the interim amendments, each holder of convertible notes has agreed that, through August 12, 2016, the holder will only sell shares of the Company's common stock received from note conversions at or above a price of $0.02 a share ("floor price") or when the aggregate composite daily dollar trading volume equals or exceeds$225,000. The Company has also agreed to hold its 2016 annual stockholder meeting on or prior to August 12, 2016, where the Company will propose and recommend for stockholder approval a reverse split, at a range deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors. Additionally, on or about July 25, 2016, the holders of the convertible notes will also consent to the release to the Company an aggregate of $500,000 from the Company's deposit control accounts to provide for the Company's immediate operational cash requirements.
Additional information regarding the interim amendments and the number of shares of common stock currently outstanding can be found in the Company's Form 8-K filed July 8, 2016.
Financing Update:
As disclosed in the Company's press release dated May 5, 2016, the Company is currently exploring a variety of additional financing options as a supplement or replacement for the convertible notes. Specifically, the Company has engaged an international life science focused investment advisory organization, on a best efforts basis, to assist in providing additional potential financing options from sources in the US and Europe. These financing options could involve the issuance of common or preferred equity, convertible or non-convertible debt instruments, license fees, or a combination of the foregoing.
Michael Mullan (MBBS, PhD), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, commented, "Small drug development companies face a plethora of scientific, regulatory and financial challenges. We believe we have successfully navigated a variety of these challenges to date and have accomplished key milestones in our transition to a pharmaceutical development company. As a reminder, we have generated multiple pre-clinical demonstrations of the anti-inflammatory activity of our lead compound. We have successfully completed a Phase I human safety trial and we have aggregated resources (including three of the top dermatological experts in the world) to focus on dermatological indications, with a planned Phase Ib proof of concept study upcoming amongst other planned initiatives. Management remains unwavering in its dedication and commitment to bringing the Company's technology to commercialization, as a novel way to treat damaging inflammatory conditions which burden young and old alike. In order to achieve this goal we continue to work on a number of alternative or additional financing strategies to adequately fund our preclinical and clinical programs necessary for regulatory approval."
About Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:
Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging drug development company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of new drugs, formulations and compounds that provide therapies for chronic and acute inflammatory diseases. The Company is focusing on small molecule therapeutics that exhibit anti-inflammatory pharmacological characteristics, distinct from other anti-inflammatory drugs available such as biologics, steroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. The Company's lead compound has been investigated extensively in pre-clinical (in vitro and in vivo) studies, resulting in several peer reviewed and published scientific journal articles, covering models of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and autoimmune thyroiditis. All these studies demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effects of the Company's compound. In addition, the Company's compilation of human exposure safety and tolerability data has provided important insights for ongoing clinical and regulatory pharmaceutical development.
For more information, visit: http://www.rockcreekpharmaceuticals.com
