Motif Bio looks to raise £10m via accelerated bookbuild

Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Motif Bio is looking to raise up £10m by way of a conditional placing with new and existing investors in order to assist the firm with regulatory and other investments for iclaprim, its novel antibiotic candidate.

Motif's placing, set to be conducted via an accelerated bookbuild exercise run by Peel Hunt and Northland Capital, was designed to fund near-term regulatory and pre-commercial investments for iclaprim, as well as assisting the AIM-quoted company in strengthening its balance sheet.

Admission of the new shares has been scheduled for 0800 BST on 23 May.

Graham Lumsden, chief executive of Motif Bio, said, "We welcome the support shown by existing shareholders and are pleased to welcome new investors to Motif Bio."

"This funding, along with our existing resources, allows us to fund some regulatory and pre-commercialisation investments for iclaprim and strengthen our balance sheet ahead of entering into more advanced discussions with potential partners to commercialise iclaprim in the US and elsewhere," Lumsden added.

As of 1410 BST, Motif shares had dropped 5.04% to 32.05p.