REG - Shield Therapeutics - Amends Senior Secured Debt Financing

Shield TherapeuticsAnnouncement

03/12/2025 07:05

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RNS Number : 0453K  Shield Therapeutics PLC  03 December 2025

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation
(EU) No. 596/2014 (as it forms part of domestic law in the United Kingdom by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018). Upon the publication of
this announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside
information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

Shield Therapeutics plc

("Shield" or the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Amends Senior Secured Debt Financing with improved terms

 

Available funds of up to $50 million including $15 million towards future
M&A transactions

 

London, UK, December 3, 2025: Shield Therapeutics plc (LSE: STX), a
commercial-stage pharmaceutical company specialising in iron deficiency
announces the amendment of its senior term debt financing. This strategic
financial update, executed through SWK Holdings Corporation ("SWK") with
improved terms and the addition of Runway Growth Finance Corp. ("Runway") to
the lending syndicate, strengthens the Company's financial position by
lowering debt related costs and provides flexibility to drive further growth
and explore suitable M&A opportunities.

 

The revised term extends the loan facility from $20 million to up to $50
million including $15 million to be made available for future M&A
opportunities and a $10 million accordion feature. The original maturity date
of 28 September 2028 is maintained, while the interest only period has been
extended to 15 quarters compared to 9 quarters from the original close of Q4
2023. The interest rate will be reduced, beginning 15 January 2026, to 3 Month
CME Term SOFR ("SOFR") + 8.75% compared to the prior interest rate of SOFR +
9.25%. Further, the SOFR is subject to a floor of 3.5%, reduced from the
original floor of 5%. Shield will be required to pay an origination fee of
0.5%, and an exit fee of 5% only on incremental funds drawn from the
additional capital of $30 million made available to Shield. Shield will grant
Runway warrants to acquire new ordinary shares that will represent 5% of any
incremental capital drawn down by the Company above $20 million. As a part of
the amendment, Shield will draw an additional $2 million of the total
available funds bringing the total debt outstanding under this facility to $22
million. New warrants over 906,468 new ordinary shares will be issued to
Runway linked to the additional $2 million drawn, with an expiration date of
six years after closing and a strike price of 8.4p per Ordinary Share based on
a 20-day VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price) to 1 December 2025. There is no
penalty for prepaying the loan prior to the maturity date. The financial
covenant of minimum liquidity has been lowered to no less than the greater of
i) trailing one quarter of cash burn or ii) $2.0 million compared to the
greater of i) trailing one quarter of cash burn or ii) $2.5 million. All other
terms remain unchanged.

 

Santosh Shanbhag, CFO at Shield, commented: "We are pleased with the continued
momentum of ACCRUFeR® growth in the US which has put Shield on a path to
turning cash flow positive by the end of 2025. This positive shift in the
Company's financial performance has enabled Shield to evaluate multiple
options to refinance the current term debt and secure improved terms with its
current debt provider, SWK. It has also enabled us to lower our debt related
costs and access up to $30 million of additional capital to provide further
flexibility to our future growth opportunities, including potential future
M&A, as a way of further leveraging the commercial platform we have built
in the U.S."

 

 

For further information please contact:

 

 Shield Therapeutics plc                                                              www.shieldtherapeutics.com (http://www.shieldtherapeutics.com/)
 Anders Lundstrom, CEO                                                                +44 (0) 191 511 8500

 Santosh Shanbhag, CFO                                                                Investorrelations@shieldtx.com

 Stephanie Hicks, Investor Relations

 Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker
 Peel Hunt LLP
 James Steel                                                                          +44 (0)20 7418 8900
 Joint Broker

 Cavendish Ltd

 Geoff Nash/ Isaac Hooper/Nigel Birks/Harriet
 Ward

                                                                                      +44 (0)20 7220 0500

 Transaction Investment Banker

 Baycross Capital

 Paul Enderle* / Eric Brown*                                                          +1 617-273-8477

 *Security transactions via StillPoint Capital LLC.

 

About Iron Deficiency and ACCRUFeR®/FeRACCRU®

Clinically low iron levels (aka iron deficiency, ID) can cause serious health
problems for adults of all ages, across multiple therapeutic areas. Together,
ID and ID with anemia (IDA) affect about 20 million people in the US and
represent a $2.3B market opportunity. As the first and only FDA approved oral
iron to treat ID/IDA, ACCRUFeR® has the potential to meet an important unmet
medical need for both physicians and patients and is now the leading #1
branded prescription oral iron the market today (data source - IQVIA Xponent
PlanTrak).

 

ACCRUFeR®/FeRACCRU® (ferric maltol) is a novel, stable, non-salt-based oral
therapy for adults with ID/IDA. The drug has a novel mechanism of absorption
compared to other oral iron therapies and has been shown to be an efficacious
and well-tolerated therapy in a range of clinical trials. More information
about ACCRUFeR®/FeRACCRU®, including the product label, can be found at:
www.accrufer.com (http://www.accrufer.com) and www.feraccru.com
(http://www.feraccru.com) .

 

About Shield Therapeutics plc

Shield is a commercial stage specialty pharmaceutical company that delivers
ACCRUFeR®/FeRACCRU® (ferric maltol), an innovative and differentiated
pharmaceutical product, to address a significant unmet need for patients
suffering from iron deficiency, with or without anemia. The Company has
launched ACCRUFeR® in the U.S. with an exclusive, multi-year collaboration
agreement with Viatris. Outside of the U.S., the Company has licensed the
rights to five specialty pharmaceutical companies. FeRACCRU® is
commercialised in the UK and European Union by Norgine B.V., which also has
marketing rights in Australia and New Zealand. FeRACCRU® is also
commercialised in Canada by Kye Pharmaceuticals Inc. Shield also has an
exclusive license agreement with Beijing Aosaikang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.,
for the development and commercialisation of ACCRUFeR®/FeRACCRU® in China,
Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, with Korea Pharma Co., Ltd. for the Republic of
Korea, and with Medleap Pharma Company Limited, a subsidiary of VITAL-NET Inc.
for Japan.

 

ACCRUFeR®/FeRACCRU® has patent coverage until the mid-2030s.

ACCRUFeR®/FeRACCRU® are registered trademarks of Shield Therapeutics.

 

About SWK Holdings Corporation ("SWK")

SWK is a life science focused specialty finance company partnering with small-
and mid-sized commercial-stage healthcare companies. SWK provides non-dilutive
financing to fuel the development and commercialization of lifesaving and
life-enhancing medical technologies and products. SWK's unique financing
structures provide flexible financing solutions at an attractive cost of
capital to create long-term value for all SWK stakeholders. SWK's solutions
include structured debt, traditional royalty monetization, synthetic royalty
transactions, and asset purchases typically ranging in size from $5.0 million
to $25.0 million. For more information, please visit www.swkhold.com
(http://www.swkhold.com) .

 

On October 9, 2025, Runway Growth Finance Corp ("Runway"). announced that it
has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire SWK Holdings
Corporation. The transaction is expected to close in late 2025 or the first
quarter of 2026, pending SWK shareholder and regulatory approvals and other
customary closing conditions. Runway is a specialty finance company focused
on providing flexible capital solutions to late- and growth-stage companies
seeking an alternative to raising equity. Upon completion of the merger,
Runway will assume responsibility for Shield's debt financing. For more
information, please visit www.runwaygrowth.com (http://www.runwaygrowth.com) .

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