CorMedix makes $5M minority equity investment in Talphera

CorMedix (CRMD) made a $5M strategic minority equity investment in Talphera, (TLPH), acquiring 9,090,909 shares at an at-market price of $0.55 per share as part of Talphera’s concurrently announced private placement financing. Talphera expects to use the proceeds of the equity financing to fund the completion of its ongoing Phase 3 registrational study for Niyad and for pre-launch preparations. Talphera is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing Niyad, a lyophilized formulation of nafamostat which is currently being studied as an anticoagulant for the extracorporeal circuit, and has received Breakthrough Device Designation status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Talphera’s randomized, double-blind, registrational study of Niyad, NEPHRO CRRT, aims to enroll and evaluate 70 adult patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy, who cannot tolerate heparin or are at risk for bleeding. An estimated 165,000 acute kidney injury patients receive an average 5 to 7 day course of CRRT in the hospital ICU setting in a given year. In connection with the equity investment, Talphera has granted CorMedix the exclusive right of first negotiation for a potential acquisition of the company with a 60 day exclusive negotiation period following completion and announcement of its Phase 3 study results for Niyad, and the right to nominate one member to Talphera’s Board of Directors.