HOUSTON– Coya Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: COYA) (“Coya” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing biologics intended to enhance regulatory T cell (Treg) function, announces that the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (“ADDF”) has purchased 603,136 shares of the Company’s common stock at a purchase price of $8.29 per share for an aggregate investment of $5 million.
The ADDF’s mission is to rapidly accelerate the development of drugs to prevent, treat, and cure Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias, including FTD. Coya’s lead therapeutic candidate, COYA 302, is being evaluated in multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including FTD, and the Company intends for this equity investment to help fund the development of COYA 302 in a planned Phase 2 trial in FTD.
“Inflammation has emerged as a promising novel pathway for chronic neurological diseases like FTD. A combination drug, like COYA 302, is an innovative approach being developed to suppress neuroinflammation by targeting multiple inflammatory pathways,” said Howard Fillit, M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of the ADDF. “Combination therapy will be integral to slowing – and eventually halting – cognitive decline for a disease as complex as FTD, and exploring combined therapeutic modalities is an important advancement in the development of future care regimens.”
“We are grateful that a world-renowned organization like the ADDF has chosen to support our corporate mission as well as the clinical development of COYA 302 through this equity investment,” said Howard Berman, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Coya. “The ADDF’s scientists have extensively vetted COYA 302 for the treatment of FTD, a disease that is driven by a pronounced peripheral and central nervous system inflammatory response. Like Coya, the ADDF believes that combination therapies are the future of Alzheimer’s and related dementia treatments, including FTD, aligning our strategic approach to combatting such a complex disease that has no current treatment options. We look forward to working with the ADDF to potentially bring a new treatment paradigm to these patients,” continued Dr. Berman.
Dr. Berman added, “Research has shown that neurodegenerative diseases, such as AD, FTD, Parkinson’s disease, and ALS, aka ‘Lou Gehrig’s disease,’ share common disease pathways, including neuroinflammation and catastrophic neuronal loss that leads to cognitive or motor dysfunction through the complex interplay of the body’s immune system and dysfunctional anti-inflammatory regulatory Tregs. Thus, the traditional ‘one disease – one target – one drug’ approach may be ineffective for such neurodegenerative diseases, which may at least partially explain why there are limited effective treatments for these conditions. However, we believe the results thus far from studies involving COYA 302 indicate the potential to provide a sustained and lasting effect on these neurodegenerative diseases through the targeting of multiple immune pathways.”
The offer and sale of the securities described above were offered in a private placement under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), and/or Regulation D promulgated thereunder and have not been registered under the Act, or applicable state securities laws. Accordingly, the securities issued in the private placement may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Act and such applicable state securities laws.
The Company has agreed to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) covering the resale of the securities issued to ADDF no later than 30 days following the date of the definitive agreements and to have the registration statement declared effective no later than 75 days following the date of the definitive agreements in the event of a “full review” by the SEC.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.
