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Vermillion Raising up to $18.9M in Equity Financing

NEW YORK (Genomeweb News) – Vermillion today announced an equity financing of up to $18.9 million.

The company said that investors including Oracle Investment Management, Jack W. Schuler, Birchview Fund, and several Vermillion directors have agreed to purchase in a private placement approximately $10.5 million of unregistered shares of its common stock, and warrants to purchase up to $8.4 million in additional shares.

Vermillion will sell 6,944,445 shares at $1.44 per share, the stock's closing price on Dec. 18, 2014. The company will also give the investors warrants to purchase an additional 4,166,659 shares of common stock at $2.00 per share. The warrants become exercisable six months after closing of the placement and have a term of three years from the issue date.

As of Sept. 30, Vermillion had cash and cash equivalents totaling $16.8 million.

Vermillion said it plans to use the funds to build its adnexal mass registry and expedite the launch of OVA2, its next-generation ovarian cancer test. On the company's Q3 earnings call in November, CEO James LaFrance said the firm planned to submit OVA2 to the US Food and Drug Administration for 510(k) clearance in January with a commercial launch planned for the second half of 2015.

With the additional round of financing, Vermillion is suspending its at-the-market offering, LaFrance said today in a statement.

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