Print   



            

Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc.

('NWBT', 'Northwest' or the 'Company')

            

Northwest Secures US$1.1 Million Financing

Bethesda, MD- April 7, 2009 - Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. (AIM: NWBS and NWBT; OTC BB: NWBO) announces today that it is receiving bridge funding totaling US$1.1 million. Private investors from both the US and the UK are participating, along with an institutional investor from the UK. Of the total funding amount, US$400,000 is coming from the US and £500,000 (approximately US$700,000) is coming from the UK.  

The US investors are investing in the form of convertible notes (the 'Notes') that are unsecured obligations of the Company and have a maturity of two years from the date of issuance. The Notes accrue interest at the rate of 6% per year. At maturity, the principal and interest under each Note (the 'Repayment Amount') is convertible in whole or in part, at the discretion of the Holders, into common stock of the Company. The conversion price for any such conversion will be $0.53 per share of common stock. (The conversion price was the average of the closing prices of the Company's stock on the US NASD Over the Counter Bulletin Board on the five trading days preceding the date of determination of the terms for this bridge funding.) Accordingly, the total number of shares of the Company's common stock that will be issued to the US investors, if all of them elect to convert the entire repayment Amount, will be 848,000. Upon issuance, the conversion shares will not be registered. The Company granted customary registration rights, including piggyback registration rights, for those conversion shares. The Notes may be prepaid at the discretion of the Company at any time prior to maturity, without any prepayment penalty. The Note also contains customary representations, warranties and covenants.  

The UK investors are investing in the form of a purchase of common stock (the 'Shares')which will be admitted to trading on AIM and a further announcement will be issued in this respect in due course. The purchase price per Share is the same as the conversion price in the convertible notes for the US investors: $0.53 per Share. Accordingly, the total number of Shares being issued to the UK investors is 1,377,356. In addition, the UK investors are receiving 15% warrant coverage, under which they may purchase up to a total of 206,760 shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $0.53 per share. The warrant coverage was determined to address the difference in the Company's stock price on the London AIM Market and the US NASD Over the Counter Bulletin Board. The exercise period for the warrant is five years from the date of issuance. Upon issuance, the Shares (and the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrant) will not be registered, but will be admitted to trading on AIM. The Company granted customary registration rights, including piggyback registration rights. The Securities Purchase Agreement also contains customary representations, warranties and covenants.

Approximately US$400,000 is being invested in the form of Notes and approximately US$700,000 is comprised in the form of Shares.

'We are very pleased to have completed another interim financing despite severely adverse general market conditions,' said NWBT's Chief Executive Officer Alton Boynton. 'We look forward to continuing the financing discussions currently under way with several additional parties for short-term and long-term funding of the Company'.

The US$1.1 million received by the Company will be sufficient to fund its cash needs into June, 2009. The Company remains in an advanced stage of negotiations with several different providers for additional near-term funding and longer term funding, which it hopes to complete during Q2 of 2009. 

The Company will need to raise additional capital to fund its clinical trials and other operating activities and to repay indebtedness in due course. Shareholders should be aware that if the Company's capital raising efforts are unsuccessful, this will have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial position and operations. 

About Northwest Biotherapeutics

Northwest Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing immunotherapy products that treat cancers more effectively than current treatments, without toxicity, on a cost-effective basis. The Company has two broad platform technologies: dendritic cell-based vaccines, and therapeutic antibodies. The Company is currently conducting a large clinical trial in Glioblastoma multiforme, which is designed and powered to serve as a pivotal trial. The Company has also received clearance from the FDA for a large Phase III trial in prostate cancer, and clearance from the FDA for Phase I trials in five other cancers. The Company also has a second technology platform, involving monoclonal antibodies to CXCR4, which is at the late pre-clinical development stage.

For further information, please visit the company web site at www.nwbio.com.

Disclaimer

Statements made in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 'expects,' 'believes,' 'intends,' and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. Specifically, there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Additional information on these and other factors, which could affect the company's results, is included in its Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC') filings. Finally, there may be other factors not mentioned above or included in the company's SEC filings that may cause actual results to differ materially those projected in any forward-looking statement. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or developments, except as required by securities laws.

For further information, please contact:

Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc.
Alton L. Boynton, Chief Executive Officer	+1 240 497 9024
Buchanan Communications
Lisa Baderoon (lisab@buchanan.uk.com) / Mary-Jane Johnson / Catherine Breen	+44 (0)20 7466 5000
Collins Stewart Europe Limited
Adrian Hadden/ Adam Cowen	+44 (0)20 7523 8350

ENDMSCGLGDSRGGGGCR