BioPharma Credit announces senior loan to Novocure for up to US$400m

BioPharma Credit (BPCR) is providing debt financing to Novocure Luxembourg S.a.r.l. through a senior secured loan agreement. BPCR will invest up to US$200m and BioPharma-V will invest up to an additional US$200m in parallel, with BPCR acting as collateral agent. Under the terms of the transaction, the company will invest up to US$200m across four tranches:

• Tranche A of US$50m was drawn on 1 May 2024;
• Tranche B of US$50m is required to be drawn by 30 June 2025, subject to customary conditions precedent set forth in the Loan Agreement;
• Tranche C of up to US$50m will be available upon achievement of certain milestones and revenue thresholds until 31 December 2025; and
• Tranche D of up to US$$50m will be available upon achievement of certain milestones and revenue thresholds until 31 March 2026.

The loan will mature in May 2029 and will bear interest at 3-month SOFR plus 6.25% per annum subject to a 3.25 per cent. SOFR floor, along with an additional consideration of 2.50 per cent. The additional consideration with respect to Tranche A and Tranche B was paid at the funding of Tranche A and will be due and payable with respect to Tranche C and Tranche D at the funding of those tranches.

Based in Switzerland, Novocure is a publicly traded global oncology company with a current market capitalisation of ~US$1.38bn. Novocure has a proprietary platform technology called Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields), which are electric fields that exert physical forces to kill cancer cells via a variety of mechanisms. Optune Gio is approved for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma in the U.S, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan and certain other countries. Optune Lua is approved for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma and pleural mesothelioma in the U.S., the European Union and certain other countries. Novocure reported net sales of US$509m for the twelve months ended December 2023.