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LAVA Therapeutics Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering

Utrecht, Netherlands and Philadelphia USA, March 24, 2021 – LAVA Therapeutics B.V. (Nasdaq: LVTX), a biotechnology company focused on applying its expertise in bispecific gamma-delta T cell engagers to transform cancer therapy, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 6,700,000 common shares at a public offering price of $15.00 per share. In addition, LAVA has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,005,000 common shares at the initial public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. All of the shares are being offered by LAVA. The shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on March 25, 2021 under the ticker symbol “LVTX.”

Gross proceeds of the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by LAVA, are expected to be $100.5 million. The offering is expected to close on March 29, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

J.P. Morgan, Jefferies and SVB Leerink are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Kempen & Co is acting as lead manager for the offering.

The registration statement relating to these securities became effective on March 24, 2021. The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by telephone at (866) 803-9204, or by email at prospectus_eqfi@jpmchase.com; Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10022, or by telephone at (877) 821-7388 or by email at prospectus_department@Jefferies.com; or SVB Leerink LLC, Attention: Syndicate Department, One Federal Street, 37th Floor, Boston, MA 02110, by telephone at (800) 808-7525, ext. 6105, or by email at syndicate@svbleerink.com.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these 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.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain disclosures that contain “forward-looking statements,” including, without limitation, statements regarding LAVA’s expectations regarding the commencement of trading of its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and the completion and timing of the closing of offering. Forward-looking statements are based on LAVA’s current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and the completion of the offering.  These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the section titled “Risk Factors” in the final prospectus related to the offering to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of this date, and LAVA undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law.

Company Contact:

IR@lavatherapeutics.com

LAVA Therapeutics B.V. Appoints Edward F. Smith as Chief Financial Officer

Veteran biopharma CFO brings over 20 years of experience leading finance functions at publicly traded pharmaceutical companies

Utrecht, The Netherlands and Philadelphia, USA – March 15, 2021 – LAVA Therapeutics B.V. (“LAVA”, or the “Company”), a biotechnology company focused on applying its expertise in bispecific gamma-delta T cell engagers to transform cancer therapy, today announced that it is expanding its management team with the appointment of Edward F. Smith as its chief financial officer.

Mr. Smith has served on management teams of publicly traded life science companies for the past 20 years, raising approximately $500 million, building finance organizations and supporting operations from early development stage into commercialization.

“I am excited to welcome Ed to the team as LAVA prepares to become a clinical stage company,” said Stephen Hurly, chief executive officer of LAVA. “We have built a highly experienced team committed to a culture of tenacious hard work, creativity, and collaboration to drive our platform of bispecific gamma-delta T cell engagers forward to serve cancer patients.  Ed fits in perfectly and brings significant experience building finance and accounting functions to our team.”

“While first generation T-cell engagers had great promise in many areas, that promise has yet to be fully realized.  I believe LAVA’s approach leveraging the unique attributes of gamma delta T-cells holds the potential to move the field forward and potentially transform the standard of care across many tumor types,” Mr. Smith said.

Prior to LAVA, Mr. Smith was CFO of Marinus Pharmaceuticals and PolyMedix, Inc., and prior to that was executive director of finance at InKine Pharmaceutical Company, Inc., where he assisted with the acquisition of that company by Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Earlier in his career, he held various positions of increasing responsibility in public accounting, most recently in the audit practice at Deloitte & Touche, LLP. Mr. Smith is currently a member of the board of directors at Benitec Biopharma, Inc., a development-stage biotechnology company focused on the advancement of novel genetic medicines. Mr. Smith holds a B.S. in business administration from the University of Hartford and was licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in Pennsylvania.

About LAVA

LAVA Therapeutics B.V. is a biotechnology company developing a portfolio of bispecific gamma-delta T cell engagers (gamma-delta bsTCEs) for the treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies based on its proprietary platform. The Company’s innovative approach leverages bispecific antibodies to activate Vγ9Vδ2 T cells upon binding to membrane-expressed tumor associated antigens. Activated Vγ9Vδ2 T cells are engaged for direct, selective tumor cell killing. The Company’s lead program, LAVA-051, is expected to enter a Phase 1/2a clinical study in hematologic malignancies in the first half of 2021. The Company has established a highly experienced research and development team located in Utrecht, the Netherlands and Philadelphia, USA.

LAVA’s Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including in respect of the Company’s anticipated growth and clinical developments plans, including the timing of clinical trials. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “expect,” “should,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “potential” and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on LAVA’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements about the progress, timing, clinical development and scope of clinical trials and the reporting of clinical data for LAVA’s product candidates, and the potential use of our product candidates to treat various tumor targets. Many factors may cause differences between current expectations and actual results including unexpected safety or efficacy data observed during preclinical trials, changes in expected or existing competition, changes in the regulatory environment, the COVID-19 pandemic may disrupt our business and that of the third parties on which we depend, including delaying or otherwise disrupting our clinical trials and preclinical studies, manufacturing and supply chain, or impairing employee productivity, failure of LAVA’s collaborators to support or advance collaborations or product candidates and unexpected litigation or other disputes, among others. LAVA assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in expectations, even as new information becomes available.

Contact

Keely Zipp

k.zipp@lavatherapeutics.com

LAVA Therapeutics B.V. to Present Preclinical Findings Supporting Anti-Tumor Activity of Lead Clinical Candidate LAVA-051 at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual 2021 Annual Meeting

Utrecht, The Netherlands and Philadelphia, USA – March 10, 2021 – LAVA Therapeutics B.V., a biotechnology company focused on applying its expertise in bispecific gamma-delta T cell engagers (bs TCE) to transform cancer therapy, today announced that a poster featuring lead clinical candidate LAVA-051 will be presented at week 1 of the virtual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, which will be held April 10-15, 2021.

The following abstract is now available on the AACR website at www.aacr.org.

Title: Potent anti-tumor activity against patient CLL, MM and AML cells by LAVA-051, a bispecific Vγ9Vδ2-T and type 1 NKT cell engager targeting CD1d

Session Type: E-Poster Session

Session Title: Therapeutic Antibodies, Including Engineered Antibodies

Abstract Number: 1855

LAVA-051 is a humanized gamma-delta bsTCE which targets CD1d and the Vδ2 domain of the T cell receptor. It is the first antibody-based compound targeting CD1d to activate both Vγ9Vδ2-T and type 1 NKT cells. LAVA-051 exerted substantial antitumor activity against patient derived acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and multiple myeloma (MM) cells that express CD1d. In addition, improved survival was observed in in vivo AML and MM mouse xenograft models treated with LAVA-051.

LAVA-051 is planned to enter a Phase I/IIa study in hematologic malignancies in 1H 2021.

 

About LAVA

LAVA Therapeutics B.V. is a biotechnology company developing a portfolio of bispecific gamma-delta T cell engagers (gamma-delta bsTCEs) for the treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies based on its proprietary platform. The company’s innovative approach leverages bispecific antibodies to activate Vγ9Vδ2 T cells upon binding to membrane-expressed tumor associated antigens. Activated Vγ9Vδ2 T cells are engaged for direct, selective tumor cell killing. The company’s lead program, LAVA-051, is expected to enter a Phase 1/2a clinical study in hematologic malignancies in the first half of 2021. The company has established a highly experienced research and development team located in Utrecht, the Netherlands and Philadelphia, USA.

 

LAVA’s Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including in respect of the company’s anticipated growth and clinical developments plans, including the timing of clinical trials. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “expect,” “should,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “potential” and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on LAVA’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements about the progress, timing, clinical development and scope of clinical trials and the reporting of clinical data for LAVA’s product candidates, and the potential use of our product candidates to treat various tumor targets. Many factors may cause differences between current expectations and actual results including unexpected safety or efficacy data observed during preclinical trials, changes in expected or existing competition, changes in the regulatory environment, the COVID-19 pandemic may disrupt our business and that of the third parties on which we depend, including delaying or otherwise disrupting our clinical trials and preclinical studies, manufacturing and supply chain, or impairing employee productivity, failure of LAVA’s collaborators to support or advance collaborations or product candidates and unexpected litigation or other disputes, among others. LAVA assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in expectations, even as new information becomes available.

Contact

Keely Zipp

k.zipp@lavatherapeutics.com