Soligenix Receives $750,000 in Non-Dilutive Financing from New Jersey's Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program

PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Soligenix, Inc. (OTCQB: SNGX)  (Soligenix or the Company), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat serious inflammatory diseases where there remains an unmet medical need, as well a developing several biodefense vaccines and therapeutics, announced today that it has recently received approximately $750,000, net of transaction costs, in non-dilutive financing via the State of New Jersey's Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program (the Program).

This Program enables approved, unprofitable biotechnology businesses to sell their unused Net Operating Loss Carryovers (NOLs) and unused Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credits to unaffiliated, profitable corporate taxpayers in the State of New Jersey. This allows biotechnology businesses with NOLs to turn their tax losses and credits into cash proceeds to fund more R&D, buy equipment and/or facilities, or cover other allowable expenditures. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) determines eligibility for the Program, the New Jersey Division of Taxation determines the value of the available tax benefits (NOLs and R&D Tax Credits), and the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology evaluates the technology and its viability. The state of New Jersey was the originator of this Program and the first state to implement and fund it.

"As we are always looking for non-dilutive ways to fund our company, we are once again very pleased with NJEDA's decision to approve our application in this year's program," stated Christopher J. Schaber, PhD, President and CEO of Soligenix. "This NOL funding is a nice addition to other non-dilutive funding we have recently been awarded from BARDA and NIAID.  We are very thankful for New Jersey's continued support of its biotechnology industry."

About Soligenix, Inc.

Soligenix is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing products to treat serious inflammatory diseases where there remains an unmet medical need, as well as developing several biodefense vaccines and therapeutics. Soligenix is developing proprietary formulations of oral BDP (beclomethasone 17,21-dipropionate) for the prevention/treatment of gastrointestinal disorders characterized by severe inflammation, including pediatric Crohn's disease (SGX203), acute radiation enteritis (SGX201) and chronic Graft-versus-Host disease (orBec^®), as well as developing its novel innate defense regulator (IDR) technology SGX942 for the treatment of oral mucositis.  

Through its BioDefense Division, Soligenix is developing countermeasures pursuant to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Strategic Plan of 2011-2016 for inclusion in the US government's Strategic National Stockpile. Soligenix's biodefense products in development are a recombinant subunit vaccine called RiVax™, which is designed to protect against the lethal effects of exposure to ricin toxin and VeloThrax™, a vaccine against anthrax exposure. RiVax™ has been shown to be well tolerated and immunogenic in two Phase 1 clinical trials in healthy volunteers. Both RiVax™ and VeloThrax™ are currently the subject of a $9.4 million National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) grant supporting development of Soligenix's new vaccine heat stabilization technology known as ThermoVax™.  Soligenix is also developing OrbeShield™ for the treatment of gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome (GI ARS) under a BARDA contract award valued up to $26.3 million and a NIAID contract award valued up to $6.4 million. OrbeShield™ has previously demonstrated statistically significant preclinical survival results in a canine model of GI ARS funded by the NIAID.  Additionally, Soligenix has an exclusive worldwide collaboration with Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON) focused on the joint development of a treatment for Melioidosis, a high priority biothreat and an area of unmet medical need.

For further information regarding Soligenix, Inc., please visit the Company's website at www.soligenix.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect Soligenix, Inc.'s current expectations about its future results, performance, prospects and opportunities, including but not limited to, potential market sizes, patient populations and clinical trial enrollment.  Statements that are not historical facts, such as "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "intends," "potential," or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.  These statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results in future periods to differ materially from what is expressed in, or implied by, these statements.  Soligenix cannot assure you that it will be able to successfully develop, achieve regulatory approval for or commercialize products based on its technologies, particularly in light of the significant uncertainty inherent in developing vaccines against bioterror threats conducting preclinical and clinical trials of vaccines, obtaining regulatory approvals and manufacturing vaccines, that product development and commercialization efforts will not be reduced or discontinued due to difficulties or delays in clinical trials or due to lack of progress or positive results from research and development efforts, that it will be able to successfully obtain any further funding to support product development and commercialization efforts, including grants and awards, maintain its existing grants which are subject to performance requirements, enter into any biodefense procurement contracts with the US Government or other countries, that it will be able to compete with larger and better financed competitors in the biotechnology industry, that changes in health care practice, third party reimbursement limitations and Federal and/or state health care reform initiatives will not negatively affect its business, or that the US Congress may not pass any legislation that would provide additional funding for the Project BioShield program.  These and other risk factors are described from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, Soligenix's reports on Forms 10-Q and 10-K.  Unless required by law, Soligenix assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events.

CONTACT: Joe Warusz, CPA, Acting Chief Financial Officer, (609) 538-8200, www.soligenix.com, Soligenix, Inc.
29 Emmons Drive, Suite C-10
Princeton, NJ 08540

SOURCE Soligenix, Inc.