Covington Advises Leading Stem Cell Company on Placing and Open Offer
April 6, 2012
LONDON, 6 April, 2012 — Covington & Burling advised ReNeuron Group plc, an AIM-listed clinical stage stem cell business, in connection with a firm placing and open offer to existing shareholders to raise up to £9.4 million before expenses. In addition, investors in the firm placing are being issued warrants to subscribe for ordinary shares, which could raise up to £8.1 million for the Company, before expenses.
The primary objective of ReNeuron is the development of novel stem cell therapies targeting areas of significant unmet or poorly met medical need. ReNeuron’s lead therapeutic candidate is the ReN001 stem cell therapy for the treatment of patients left disabled by the effects of a stroke. This treatment is currently in clinical development. The company is also developing stem cell therapies for other conditions such as peripheral arterial disease, a serious and common side effect of diabetes, and blindness-causing diseases of the retina.
The London-based Covington team was led by corporate partners Paul Claydon and James Halstead, with special counsel Matthew Edwards and associates Kristian Shearsby and Ben Sautelle-Smith. Of counsel Guy Dingley provided tax advice.
Paul Claydon, the head of the firm’s European corporate group, commented: “We have acted for ReNeuron for many years, dating back to before the company’s 2005 IPO, and are pleased to advise the company on its current fundraising to finance its pioneering work in the treatment of stroke victims and to further push forward the frontiers of stem cell research.”
Covington’s life sciences practice and its lawyers are widely recognised for their excellence, including rankings in Chambers Global, Chambers UK, Chambers USA, Legal 500 UK, Legal 500 US, Legal 500 EMEA and PLC.