Fate Therapeutics Opens $100 Million Share-Sale Option, Replacing Jefferies With Leerink
The optional program lets Fate set sale limits and pays Leerink up to 3% of gross proceeds.
Fate Therapeutics, which develops cell therapies still in human testing, signed an agreement Thursday allowing it to sell up to $100 million of common stock through Leerink Partners, according to its SEC filing. Fate decides whether to sell, and Leerink acts as sales agent rather than a committed buyer.
$8 Million Through Jefferies
Fate ended its Jefferies arrangement Thursday immediately before signing with Leerink, paying no termination penalties. The former program, dated November 8, 2023, also had a $100 million ceiling; Fate sold 2,801,602 shares through it for gross proceeds of $8.0 million.
The replacement is an at-the-market program — a way to issue shares into the trading market over time. Leerink can sell through the Nasdaq Global Market, other markets where Fate stock trades, or market makers. Fate will pay the agent a commission of up to 3.0% of gross sale proceeds and reimburse specified expenses.
Fate Sets The Sale Limits
Fate can set minimum sale prices, the period for selling and limits on the total amount and daily volume. Leerink may reject a sale request, and either party can suspend sales.
Once it accepts a request, Leerink must make reasonable efforts to sell within Fate's instructions. Successful sales are not guaranteed, and purchases by Leerink for its own account require a separate written agreement.
The sales agreement also blocks share sales while Fate possesses, or could reasonably be considered to possess, material nonpublic information. Fate must cancel active sale instructions during such periods.
Cell Therapies In Human Testing
Fate's business centers on ready-to-use therapies made from engineered induced pluripotent stem cells. Those cells provide renewable starting material for producing disease-fighting T cells and natural killer cells.
Its lead candidate, FT819, is in an early-stage trial for systemic lupus erythematosus and is being tested for other autoimmune diseases, with sites in the United States, United Kingdom and European Union. Other candidates address solid tumors, including one developed with Ono Pharmaceutical.
Fate intends to replace the securities registration that expires November 27, 2026. Once the replacement is filed, the existing registration can support sales until the replacement takes effect or May 26, 2027, whichever comes first.
Fate intends to continue the share-sale program under the replacement registration once it becomes effective.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — FATE THERAPEUTICS INC (FATE) — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit d141617dex11.htm — FATE THERAPEUTICS INC 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
