HOUSTON, Feb. 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aravive, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARAV), a clinical-stage oncology company developing transformative therapeutics, today announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with Eshelman Ventures, LLC to sell 2,875,000 shares of common stock at a price of $7.29 per share in a registered direct offering. Aravive expects to receive gross proceeds of approximately $21.0 million from this offering. Eshelman Ventures, LLC is an entity wholly-owned by Fredric N. Eshelman, Pharm.D., chairman of Aravive’s Board of Directors.
"Dr. Eshelman’s support reinforces our confidence in the potential of AVB-500 to address the unmet needs of patients with ovarian and renal cancer,” said Gail McIntyre, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Aravive. “We look forward to initiating the pivotal Phase 3 registrational trial of AVB-500 in platinum resistant ovarian cancer in the coming weeks and reporting on the first interim analysis expected early next year.”
Proceeds from the registered direct offering will be used primarily to continue clinical development of AVB-500 in platinum resistant ovarian cancer and clear cell renal cell carcinoma, and for general corporate purposes. The offering is expected to close on or about February 18, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.
The shares of common stock are being offered pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that was previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on September 4, 2020 and declared effective by the SEC on November 20, 2020. The final prospectus supplement relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell nor the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
About Aravive
Aravive, Inc. is a clinical-stage oncology company developing transformative therapeutics designed to halt the progression of life-threatening diseases. Aravive is based in Houston, Texas and received a Product Development Award from the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) in 2016. Aravive’s lead product candidate, AVB-500, is an ultra-high affinity decoy protein that targets the GAS6-AXL signaling pathway associated with tumor cell growth. Aravive successfully completed a Phase 1b trial of AVB-500 in platinum resistant ovarian cancer and plans to initiate a pivotal Phase 3 trial of AVB-500 at a dose of 15 mg/kg. While the Phase 1b trial of AVB-500 in platinum resistant ovarian cancer was a safety trial and not powered to demonstrate efficacy, all 5 patients in the 15 mg/kg cohort experienced clinical benefit, with 1 complete response, 2 partial responses, and 2 stable disease. The Company has initiated and is recruiting for its Phase 1b/2 trial in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
