Preliminary information on Faron's issue - funding secured until Q4'27

Translation: Original published in Finnish on 04/09/2026 at 07:13 am EEST

Faron announced preliminary results for its rights issue on Wednesday. Although the direct subscription rate from shareholders and other investors remained just over 50%, the issue will be fully realized due to the subscription commitments and guarantees received. This secures 33 MEUR in net assets for the company, extending its cash runway until November 2027 and enabling the advancement of bexmarilimab's pivotal Phase II study. The release does not cause changes to our estimates, as the full coverage and terms of the offering were already known.

Guarantees covered half of the total

According to the preliminary results of the issue, a total of 41.9 million shares were directly subscribed, which corresponds to 52% of the shares offered.  A total of 38.8 million shares were subscribed for with subscription rights, and approximately 3.2 million without subscription rights. The remaining shares from the rights issue will be allocated based on the 7.1 MEUR anchor commitments and other underwriting agreements.

The issue, carried out at a subscription price of EUR 0.50, will increase Faron's number of shares by 80 million new shares to a total of around 199.5 million shares. The new shares represent around 67.1% of the company's share capital after the issue. Although direct subscription interest remained moderate, the full coverage of the issue was secured in advance, which removed uncertainty regarding its realization. The number of subscriptions was not surprising given the large size of the issue.

Funding provides peace of mind for bexmarilimab's clinical development

Faron will raise 32.8 MEUR in net proceeds from the issue after transaction costs. The company intends to primarily direct these funds towards accelerating the development of bexmarilimab. The focus is on a randomized Phase II study of 90 patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (HR MDS). Further, the company will use funds for a maximum of five investigator-initiated trials (IIT).

A successful financing round is vital for the company, as it secures funding until November 2027. We estimate that this time is sufficient to cover the readout of key responses from bexmarilimab's HR MDS study, which is a critical milestone for the drug candidate's development and potential future partnership negotiations. Securing the financing provides the company with the necessary breathing room to advance its key project without immediate concerns about cash sufficiency.