Vermillion Announces Closing of Equity Financing

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Vermillion, Inc. (Nasdaq:  VRML), a bio-analytical solutions company focused on gynecologic disease, announced today that the Company closed its previously announced private placement with investors including Oracle Investment Management, Jack W. Schuler, Birchview Fund LLC and several Vermillion directors. Total proceeds were $10.5 million, before offering expenses.  The proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Under the terms of the private placement, Vermillion sold 6,944,445 unregistered shares of its common stock at the price of $1.44 per share, the closing price quoted on NASDAQ on December 18, 2014.  In addition, the investors received unregistered warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 4,166,659 unregistered shares of Vermillion common stock at an exercise price of $2.00 per share.  The warrants become exercisable six months after the closing of the private placement and have a term of three years from the date of issuance.  If and when the warrants are exercised, the Company will realize an additional $8.3 million in proceeds, bringing the total investment to approximately $18.9 million, before transaction costs.

About Adnexal Masses

• 500,000 – 1 million women experience ovarian masses and 150,000 – 300,000 women have suspicious ovarian tumors removed annually in the US.
• Ovarian cancer is rarely diagnosed in early stages and has the highest mortality rate of all gynecological cancers.
• Over 65,000 OVA1 tests have been ordered to date.
• Vermillion has launched ASPiRA Labs, a CLIA certified national clinical lab, to serve as a cutting-edge biomarker diagnostics center for gynecological cancers.

About OVA1

• OVA1 is a proprietary FDA-cleared blood test to help physicians assess the risk of ovarian cancer prior to surgery and trigger the involvement of a specialist (gynecologic oncologist) for higher risk patients
• The OvaCalc® proprietary algorithm combines five biomarker results into a single numerical "risk score" that stratifies patients into "higher risk" and "lower risk" when combined with clinical assessment
• In two pivotal clinical trials, (Ueland FR, DeSimone CP, Seamon et al. Obstetrics & Gynecology 2011;117:1289-1297; Bristow RE, Smith A, Zhang Z et al. Gynecologic Oncology 2013;128:252-259) OVA1 plus clinical impression detected 96% of all malignancies  vs. 75%  for clinical impression alone. It subsequently reduced the number of malignancies missed from 25% to 4%, a reduction of 83%.
• For early-stage cancers specifically,  31% were missed by clinical impression alone. This was reduced to 5% when OVA1 was added to clinical impression, a reduction of 85%.
• Vermillion is currently developing a next-generation test, OVA2, which has an expected release in the second half of 2015.

About Vermillion
Vermillion, Inc. is dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel high-value diagnostic and bio-analytical solutions that help physicians diagnose, treat and improve outcomes for patients. Vermillion, along with its prestigious scientific collaborators, has diagnostic programs in gynecologic disease. The company's lead diagnostic, OVA1®, is a blood test for pre-surgical assessment of ovarian tumors for malignancy, using an innovative algorithmic approach. As the first FDA-cleared, protein-based In Vitro Diagnostic Multivariate Index Assay, OVA1 represents a new class of software-based diagnostics. For additional information, including published clinical trials, visit www.vermillion.com.

Investor Relations Contact:
Michael Wood
LifeSci Advisors LLC
Tel 1-646-597-6983
[email protected]

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SOURCE Vermillion, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.vermillion.com