Immunic rises after $400M private placement, leadership transition

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Immunic (IMUX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IMUX]) shares climbed ~26% in the premarket on Friday after the immunology drug developer announced a private placement to raise up to $400M and disclosed that its CEO, Daniel Vitt, has decided to step down.

As part of the private placement led by existing investor BVF Partners L.P., the New York-based biotech said it will issue roughly 229.1M pre-funded warrants, allowing investors to purchase shares of the company's common stock at $0.873 apiece, generating $200M upfront.

Immunic (IMUX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IMUX]) intends to raise up to $200M in additional gross proceeds through the issuance of warrants to buy approximately 229.1M shares at a strike price of $0.873 per share. The offering is expected to close on or about Feb. 17.

The company added that its existing cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, along with proceeds from the offering, will help fund its operations into late 2027.

As for leadership changes, Immunic (IMUX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IMUX]) disclosed that its board of directors, along with CEO Vitt, will begin an executive search to find its next CEO who can steer the company “through its next stage of growth and into commercialization.”

Following the leadership shakeup, Vitt, a co-founder of Immunic (IMUX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IMUX]), will assume a new senior executive position while continuing to serve on the company’s board of directors.

Additionally, IMUX named Simona Skerjanec, a former Roche (RHHBY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/RHHBY]) executive, as the new interim chairperson of the board to replace Duane Nash, the former chairman.

The company also added Thor Nagel, Principal at BVF Partners, as a new member of the board ahead of a broader plan to replace as many as three directors in the lead-up to its 2027 annual meeting. [https://seekingalpha.com/pr/20398980-immunic-announces-oversubscribed-private-placement-of-up-to-usd-400-million-to-accelerate]

MORE ON IMMUNIC

* Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Immunic [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IMUX/ratings/quant-ratings]
* Historical earnings data for Immunic [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IMUX/earnings]
* Financial information for Immunic [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IMUX/income-statement]