Impel Neuropharma Announces $100 Million Royalty and Debt Financing Agreement With Oaktree

Rhea-AI Summary

Impel NeuroPharma (NASDAQ: IMPL) announced a $100 million financing agreement with Oaktree Capital Management to support the commercialization of Trudhesa™, extending its cash runway into 2024. The deal includes a $50 million royalty agreement based on U.S. sales of Trudhesa™ and a $50 million senior secured debt. The royalty structure features tiered payments capped at 1.75x the upfront amount. This transaction is expected to bolster the company's balance sheet and enhance growth potential for Trudhesa™, a nasal spray for migraine treatment.

Positive

• Secured $100 million funding, extending cash runway into 2024.
• Non-dilutive financing preserves shareholder equity.
• Royalty agreement allows for tiered payments benefiting revenue growth.
• Strengthened balance sheet for ongoing commercialization of Trudhesa™.

Negative

• None.

-Transaction Provides Immediate, Non-Dilutive Capital to Further Support Commercialization of Trudhesa™

-$100 million in gross proceeds to be funded at close, extending estimated corporate cash runway into 2024

SEATTLE, March 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Impel NeuroPharma (NASDAQ: IMPL), a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company developing transformative therapies for people suffering from diseases with high unmet medical needs, with an initial focus on the central nervous system, today announced two separate transactions with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”) totaling $100 million in gross funding. The transactions include a $50 million royalty agreement on net sales of the nasal spray, Trudhesa™, and $50 million of senior secured debt. Based on current projections, these funds provide Impel with a projected cash runway into 2024.

"This non-dilutive financing provides Impel with immediate and sufficient capital to support the continued successful launch and commercialization efforts for Trudhesa.” said Adrian Adams, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Impel NeuroPharma. “Additionally, this transaction meets our objectives of strengthening our balance sheet, while retaining for our shareholders the majority of upside from growing Trudhesa sales.”

Aman Kumar, Co-Portfolio Manager of Life Sciences Lending at Oaktree, added, “We are very excited to form a long-term strategic partnership with Impel by supporting the ongoing commercialization of Trudhesa and development of additional therapies utilizing the Company’s innovative drug delivery technology. There is a significant unmet medical need for targeted therapies within the upper nasal cavity and Oaktree believes that Trudhesa offers a highly differentiated and important offering to acute migraine patients, further validated by the impressive launch metrics to date.”

Under the terms of the royalty agreement, Oaktree will provide Impel with an upfront cash payment of $50 million in exchange for tiered royalty payments on annual U.S. net sales of Trudhesa, as follows: 7.75% on net sales up to $150.0 million; 4.75% on net sales between $150.0 million and $300.0 million; 0.75% on net sales greater than $300.0 million; and 10.0% of any payments received by Impel from ex-U.S. licensing or partnership deals for Trudhesa. The total royalty payable by Impel to Oaktree is capped at 1.75x of the amount funded upfront, with the ability to redeem the royalty agreement at lower multiples within the first three years from funding. Upon achievement of the cap amount, the royalty agreement will terminate.

Under the terms of the credit facility, Impel will borrow $50 million from Oaktree, all of which will be funded at closing. The credit facility will mature five years from funding and will bear interest at SOFR + 8.75% (with a SOFR floor of 1.00%). Following the achievement of $125 million in trailing twelve-month U.S. net sales, the interest rate margin will be lowered to 8.00%. Impel will make interest-only payments for the first 48 months. Concurrent with the closing, Impel will retire its existing $30 million debt obligation with Oxford/SVB.

Cowen acted as exclusive financial advisor to Impel on this transaction.

About Impel NeuroPharma
Impel NeuroPharma, Inc. is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company developing transformative therapies for people suffering from diseases with high unmet medical needs, with an initial focus on diseases of the central nervous system. Impel offers and is developing treatments that pair its proprietary Precision Olfactory Delivery (POD^®) technology with well-established therapeutics. In addition to Trudhesa™ (dihydroergotamine mesylate) nasal spray, which is approved in the United States for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults, Impel is also developing INP105 for the acute treatment of agitation and aggression in patients with autism, and INP107 for OFF episodes in Parkinson’s disease.

About Oaktree
Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $166 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2021. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, private equity, real assets and listed equities. The firm has over 1,000 employees and offices in 20 cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit Oaktree’s website at http://www.oaktreecapital.com/.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, the potential clinical benefits of Trudhesa™, the market opportunities of Trudhesa within the migraine market, the speed of uptake and market growth of Trudhesa, the actual amount of royalties to be paid to Oaktree, Impel’s expectations regarding the satisfaction of the closing conditions of the agreements with Oaktree, Impel’s projected cash runway, and the timing of announcements of clinical results and clinical development activities of Impel’s product candidates. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: “believe,” “may,” “will,” “potentially,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “expect” or the negative or plural of these words or similar expressions. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated, including but not limited to, Impel’s ability to maintain regulatory approval of Trudhesa, its ability to execute its commercialization strategy for Trudhesa, its ability to develop, manufacture and commercialize its other product candidates including plans for future development of its POD devices and plans to address additional indications for which Impel may pursue regulatory approval, whether results of preclinical studies or clinical trials will be indicative of the results of future trials, and the effects of COVID-19 on its clinical programs and business operations. Many of these risks are described in greater detail in Impel’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Impel assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.

Impel, POD and the Impel logo are trademarks of Impel NeuroPharma, Inc. To learn more about Impel NeuroPharma, please visit our website at https://impelnp.com/.

Contact:

Media Relations:
Melyssa Weible
Elixir Health Public Relations
Phone: (1) 201-723-5805
Email: mweible@elixirhealthpr.com

FAQ

What is the recent funding announcement by Impel NeuroPharma (IMPL)?

Impel NeuroPharma announced a $100 million financing with Oaktree Capital, consisting of a $50 million royalty agreement and a $50 million debt facility.

How will the funding impact Impel NeuroPharma's cash runway?

The funding is expected to extend Impel's cash runway into 2024, providing necessary capital for Trudhesa™ commercialization.

What are the terms of the royalty agreement for Trudhesa™?

The royalty agreement entails tiered payments based on U.S. net sales, with a cap at 1.75x the upfront amount of $50 million.

What is the interest rate for the secured debt from Oaktree?

The secured debt from Oaktree will bear interest at SOFR + 8.75%, with potential reduction to 8.00% upon achieving $125 million in sales.

How does the financing affect the shareholders of Impel NeuroPharma?

The non-dilutive nature of the financing is expected to retain the majority of the potential upside for shareholders from Trudhesa™ sales.