NEW YORK, NY and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM–(Marketwired – August 18, 2015) – Celsus Therapeutics Plc (NASDAQ: CLTX) and Volution Immuno Pharmaceuticals SA today announced that Celsus has entered into a securities purchase agreement for a private placement with a select group of investors, led by Deerfield, and including Venrock, Vivo Capital, Foresite Capital, New Enterprise Associates, QVT Financial, RA Capital Management and certain other institutional investors.

The closing of the private placement is subject to Celsus obtaining shareholder approval of the financing transaction and the previously announced acquisition by Celsus of Volution Immuno Pharmaceuticals at Celsus’ General Shareholder Meeting on September 16, 2015, the closing of the acquisition and satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Following the closing of the acquisition, the combined company will be renamed Akari Therapeutics Plc, and the company expects to trade on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the ticker symbol ‘AKTX’.

Upon the closing of the private placement, Akari expects to receive net proceeds of approximately $70 million from the sale of ordinary shares, to be represented by American Depository Shares (ADSs). Based on yesterday’s closing bid price on NASDAQ of $0.61 per ADS, assuming an aggregate of 949,410,450 fully-diluted shares following the closing of the acquisition, the purchase price of the financing would be equal to $1.58 per the currently trading ADS (or $0.158 per ordinary share), representing a 159% premium to yesterday’s closing bid price. The actual purchase price per ADS upon closing is subject to adjustment based on the closing bid price on NASDAQ on the closing date of the acquisition which will affect the number of fully diluted ordinary shares. Currently, each ADS represents 10 ordinary shares. As of September 17, 2015, the ADS ratio will adjust, such that each ADS will represent 100 ordinary shares. The ADSs to be purchased by the investors in the financing will each represent 100 ordinary shares.

As previously announced on July 13, 2015, on a pro forma basis, prior to giving effect to the private placement, and based upon the number of ordinary shares of Celsus to be issued in the acquisition of Volution Immuno Pharmaceuticals, current Celsus security holders will own approximately 8.32% and current Volution Immuno Pharmaceutical SA security holders will own approximately 91.68% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis. The private placement values the combined entity at $150 million on a fully diluted basis prior to the completion of the private placement. The private placement is expected to close on or about September 18, 2015.

Akari plans to use the anticipated net proceeds from the private placement for clinical development of Coversin, Akari’s lead molecule, and for working capital and general corporate purposes. Coversin is a C5 inhibitor under development to treat complement-related disorders in several therapeutic areas, including hematology, nephrology, and neurology.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and MTS Securities, LLC acted as placement agents for the private placement.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

The securities to be sold in the private placement have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. The Company has agreed to file a registration statement with the SEC covering the resale of the ADSs (and the underlying ordinary shares) sold in the private placement.

About Celsus

On July 10, 2015, Celsus entered into a Share Exchange Agreement with RPC Pharma Limited, pursuant to which privately-held Volution Immuno Pharmaceuticals will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Celsus. The combined company will focus on development and commercialization of life-transforming treatments for a range of rare and orphan autoimmune and inflammatory diseases caused by dysregulation of complement C5, including paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS). Upon closing of the transaction, Celsus expects to be renamed Akari Therapeutics Plc. Coversin is a recombinant small protein derived from a protein discovered in the saliva of the Ornithodoros moubata tick, where it plays an important role in modulating the host immune system to allow the parasite to feed without alerting the host to its presence or provoking an immune response. Coversin is under development to treat complement-C5 disorders in several therapeutic areas, including hematology, nephrology, and neurology. Coversin, at 17 kDa, is much smaller than an antibody and can be selfadministered by subcutaneous injection, which we believe should provide considerable patient benefit over the current standard of care in several diseases.