Scancell secures up to $25M BlackRock debt line to fund cancer trial
What's the deal? ScancellDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an Oxford- and Massachusetts-based immuno-oncology company, has entered a loan agreement of up to $25 million with funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. Kreos CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → also participated. The facility funds the registrational Phase 3 trial for iSCIB1+, Scancell's lead programme for difficult-to-treat cancers.
How it works: The facility comes in four tranches. Scancell plans to draw $7 million first, conditional on shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting. Further tranches totalling $8 million become available after its planned US listing and the opening of the first Phase 3 clinical site.
Why now? The debt sits alongside a planned merger with Neuphoria TherapeuticsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and a proposed Nasdaq listing, announced in July 2026. The Phase 3 trial cleared the FDA's IND process in January 2026, and Scancell aims to start it by the end of 2026.
The terms: Interest runs at 10.50% a year on the term facilities and 10.95% on the convertible portion. Up to $5 million is convertible into shares at BlackRock's option, at a 30% premium to the July fundraising price. Repayment follows an 18-month interest-only period.
What's the endgame? The financing lets Scancell run its global Phase 3 trial without leaning solely on equity. Chief executive Phil L'Huillier called the facility "an important part of an equity and debt package in conjunction with the planned merger." Initial progression-free survival data, which could support accelerated approval, is targeted for the second half of 2028.
The signal: BlackRock lending to a clinical-stage biotech shows large asset managers extending structured, convertible debt to fund late-stage trials — giving companies a route to cash that dilutes shareholders less than a straight equity raise.
Read more: pr.lakeoconeebreeze.net
Image credit: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
