Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (TSX-V: VM) announced Friday the closing of its non-brokered private placement, raising total aggregate gross proceeds of $5,005,278.32. The offering, conducted under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (LIFE), consisted of 30,935,000 units at $0.10 per unit and 15,931,486 flow-through units at $0.12 per FT unit. Each unit includes one common share and one warrant exercisable at $0.20 for 36 months, while each FT unit comprises one flow-through common share and one warrant with the same terms. The warrants are not exercisable until 70 days after issuance and contain an acceleration clause allowing the company to shorten the expiry to 60 days if the share price reaches $0.40 for 10 consecutive trading days after six months.
The company paid cash commissions of $192,040 and issued 1,920,400 broker warrants in connection with the units, and $145,802.25 in cash and 1,215,019 broker warrants for the FT units. The securities issued under the LIFE Exemption are not subject to a statutory hold period under Canadian securities laws but may be legended per TSX Venture Exchange requirements. The raising of over $5 million is a significant milestone for Voyageur, which is developing pharmaceutical-grade barium and iodine for medical imaging contrast media. The company aims to become the first vertically integrated company in the radiology contrast media drug market, controlling the supply chain from mineral extraction to FDA-approved finished products.
Voyageur plans to use the net proceeds for FDA licensing of its barium contrast product suite, regulatory approvals for the Frances Creek bulk sample extraction, feasibility work at Frances Creek, U.S. iodine project development, and general corporate purposes. The barium contrast product suite, if approved, could provide a domestic source of contrast media for medical imaging, reducing reliance on foreign suppliers. The Frances Creek project, located in Canada, is expected to produce high-purity barium sulfate, a key ingredient for contrast agents. Additionally, the U.S. iodine project aims to develop a domestic source of iodine, which is critical for iodinated contrast media used in CT scans and other imaging procedures.
Insiders subscribed for 900,000 units, representing 1.92% of the securities issued, increasing their non-diluted ownership to 0.41%. The participation constituted a related party transaction under Multilateral Instrument 61-101, but the company is exempt from formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements as the transaction's fair market value does not exceed 25% of market capitalization. The offering was unanimously approved by the board, including directors who did not subscribe. A copy of the amended offering document is available on SEDAR+ and the company's website at Voyageur Pharmaceuticals.
The successful closing of this financing provides Voyageur with the capital needed to advance its key regulatory and development milestones. The company's strategy of vertical integration could differentiate it in the contrast media market, which is currently dominated by a few large players. If Voyageur achieves FDA approval for its barium contrast products and develops its iodine project, it could potentially lower costs and improve supply security for healthcare providers. The next steps will involve progressing through regulatory processes and completing feasibility studies, with updates expected as milestones are reached.
