31 March 2017 - - US-based investigational ribonucleic acid interference therapeutics developer Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRNA) has signed a stock purchase agreement with a syndicate of current and new investors, led by Bain Capital Life Sciences, for the sale of redeemable convertible preferred stock for gross proceeds of USD 70m, the company said.

Other participants in the financing include EcoR1 Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, RA Capital, Domain Associates and Skyline Ventures, among others.

Under the terms of the stock purchase agreement, upon closing of the preferred stock transaction, Adam M. Koppel, M.D., Ph.D., a managing director of Bain Capital Life Sciences, will be named to the company's board of directors, increasing the membership to nine.

Dicerna said it plans to use the proceeds from the offering to further develop its GalXC pipeline programs, including both pre-clinical and clinical work, as well as for general corporate purposes.

The transaction is expected to close on or before 11 April 2017, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

This preferred stock will be convertible into common shares at a conversion price of USD 3.19 per share and the company can require conversion if the price of its common stock exceeds USD 6.38 per share for 45 of 60 days after the achievement of specified business and clinical development milestones.

Holders of the preferred stock will be entitled to a 12% cumulative annual dividend, which can be reduced to 4% upon the achievement of the same milestones. Dividends are compounded quarterly and payable in stock.

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative RNAi-based therapeutics for diseases involving the liver, including rare diseases, chronic liver diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and viral infectious diseases.

The company is leveraging its proprietary GalXC RNAi technology platform to build a broad pipeline in these core therapeutic areas, focusing on target genes where connections between target gene and diseases are well understood and documented.