PDS Biotechnology Corporation (Nasdaq: PDSB) completed the initial closing of a private investment in public equity (PIPE) transaction, raising approximately $11.3 million in gross proceeds, with the round led by Nant Capital, LLC.

The total PIPE is structured for up to $22.3 million, with a contingent milestone closing of up to $11 million that will be triggered upon the company's submission of a Phase 3 clinical trial protocol for its drug candidate PDS0301 to the FDA. At that milestone closing, Nant Capital and AB Group Ltd. would be obligated to invest $10 million and $1 million, respectively.

At the initial closing, the company issued 16,502,870 shares of common stock, 23,498,156 pre-funded warrants, and 20,000,514 common warrants. Each share unit was priced at $0.2825, and each pre-funded warrant unit was priced at $0.28217. The company said proceeds will be used to repay outstanding debt and for working capital, including continued clinical development.

As part of the transaction, PDS Biotech granted NantWorks, LLC a one-year exclusive right to negotiate a license to PDS0101, the company's investigational HPV-targeted immunotherapy.

Effective at the initial closing, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and James Banaag joined the company's board of directors. Dr. Soon-Shiong is the founder of NantWorks and serves as executive chairman of ImmunityBio (Nasdaq: IBRX) and chairman of NantHealth (Nasdaq: NH).

"I am pleased to join the board of directors and to be able to contribute towards the advancement of these therapies that are aimed at addressing difficult-to-treat cancers," Dr. Soon-Shiong said.

The company said it expects the PIPE proceeds will support advancing PDS0301 into late-stage clinical development, citing interim Phase 2 data from a National Cancer Institute-led trial in which 80% of 22 patients with microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer survived at least 24 months, a cancer type with a historical median overall survival of less than 12 months.

The securities issued in the PIPE have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933. The company has agreed to file a registration statement with the SEC covering the resale of the shares and warrant shares.