AVEO to raise $61 million through private placement

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVEO), a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing cancer therapeutics, today announced the execution of a securities purchase agreement with a select group of institutional and accredited investors providing for a private placement, or PIPE financing. Upon the closing of the PIPE financing, AVEO will receive gross proceeds of approximately $61 million resulting from the sale of 4.5 million shares of common stock at a purchase price of $13.50 per share, which represents an approximate 7% discount to the closing price on October 28, 2010. The closing of the PIPE financing is subject to standard closing conditions. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Canaccord Genuity Inc. served as joint lead placement agents for the financing. RBC Capital Markets Corporation served as co-placement agent.

“We believe that AVEO is in a strong position with two promising late-stage assets, tivozanib and AV-299”

AVEO will announce financial results during its third quarter earnings conference call scheduled for Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 10:00am ET.

The funding to be raised in this financing is expected to enable AVEO to accelerate and expand the clinical development of tivozanib, its lead product candidate, in parallel with its ongoing Phase 3 registration trial in patients with advanced kidney cancer (TIVO-1), to ramp up its pre-commercial efforts for tivozanib, and to assume development responsibilities for AV-299, its internally discovered anti-HGF antibody. Target enrollment of TIVO-1 was completed in August 2010, six months ahead of schedule, and AVEO expects to announce top-line data from the trial in mid-2011.

"We believe that AVEO is in a strong position with two promising late-stage assets, tivozanib and AV-299," said Tuan Ha-Ngoc, president and chief executive officer of AVEO. "We expect that this financing will provide us with additional resources to meaningfully advance tivozanib and AV-299 by expediting clinical development plans for both products, as well as continuing to make progress with our antibody pipeline. We believe we are well-positioned to move toward our goal of becoming a fully-integrated commercial organization, and enhancing the long-term growth of the company and value for shareholders."

The securities to be sold in this private placement have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or applicable state securities laws, and accordingly may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and such applicable state securities laws. AVEO has agreed to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission registering the resale of the shares of common stock issued in this private placement.