Opexa Completes Financing for Clinical Development of Tovaxin®

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPXA) has completed a private placement financing of approximately $3 million. The company announced that it will use the proceeds from the financing to support the ongoing clinical development of Tovaxin, a treatment for multiple sclerosis. Data from the company’s Tovaxin Phase IIb clinical trial (TERMS) are expected to be presented in September. New institutional investors Lehman Brothers and Diker Management, LLC joined existing shareholders, directors and officers to complete the financing.

“The financial support of new institutional investors, as well as our current investors and board, in advance of the results from our Tovaxin Phase IIb clinical study demonstrates an important vote of confidence for Opexa,” said Neil K. Warma, president and chief executive officer of Opexa.

Under the terms of the financing, Opexa received approximately $3.0 million in proceeds from the sale of 2,003,874 shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase an additional 2,003,874 shares of Opexa’s common stock. The purchase price paid by non-affiliate investors was $1.48 for each unit and $1.655 per unit for affiliate investors. The warrants expire in four years, are first exercisable after six months of the closing of the transaction, and are exercisable at $1.78 per share. No commissions or fees to placement agents were paid in connection with the transaction.

As part of the financing, Opexa appointed David E. Jorden to the company’s board of directors. Jorden is presently a V.P. in the Private Wealth Management group at Morgan Stanley. He has previously served as V.P. and CFO at Genometrix, Inc., principal with Fayez Sarofim & Co., and a private investor.

About Tovaxin
Tovaxin is an individualized T-cell therapeutic vaccine that consists of attenuated patient-specific myelin-reactive T-cells (MRTCs) against peptides of proteins from Myelin basic protein (MBP), Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) and Proteolipid protein (PLP) or combinations thereof. Recently announced two-year follow up data from Phase I/II clinical studies of 22 patients showed 73% of patients on Tovaxin remained relapse free after two years with 86% experiencing no disease progression. Tovaxin is manufactured in Opexa’s in-house cGMP facility.

About Opexa
Opexa Therapeutics develops and commercializes cell therapies to treat autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. The Company is focused on autologous cellular therapy applications of its proprietary T-cell and stem cell therapies. For more information visit the Opexa Therapeutics Web site.