Agile arranges $35M financing deal as lead product Twirla awaits FDA approval

Agile Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: AGRX) announced Monday that an investment management firm may provide it with up to $35 million in financing as the company awaits regulatory approval of its lead product Twirla, a contraceptive patch for women.   In a statement, the New Jersey company said $5 million was funded Monday after the satisfaction of customary closing conditions under the senior secured term loan credit facility with Perceptive Advisors of New York.  In addition, $15 million will be available if Twirla is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, and $15 million will be available upon the achievement of certain revenue milestones. Agile is permitted to make interest-only payments on the loan until February 2023.  “This strategic debt financing coupled with our current cash increases our balance sheet strength and positions us well to continue our commercialization strategy for Twirla, with an expected FDA decision less than one week away,” said CEO Al Altomari. "We expect that our existing estimated cash on hand as of December 31, 2019, and the $20 million in loan proceeds which we would be eligible to receive upon the FDA’s approval of Twirla will allow us to fund our operations through the end of 2020. We are pleased to have the support from Perceptive, which is a recognized leader in growth capital financing." Sam Chawla, portfolio manager at Perceptive Advisors, added: “We are pleased to provide growth capital to support Agile’s strategy and are excited about the potential prospects for Twirla in the market."  In connection with the credit agreement, Agile issued Perceptive warrants to purchase 1,400,000 shares of Agile common stock. The per-share exercise price for 700,000 shares is $3.74, which is equal to the five-day volume-weighted average price (5 Day VWAP) as of the trading day immediately prior to closing. The per-share exercise price for the remaining 700,000 shares of Agile common stock is $4.67, which is equal to 1.25 times the 5 Day VWAP. Agile, based in Princeton, New Jersey, saw its stock rise recently 3.2% to $4.01 a share in after-market trading in New York.   Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham