diaDexus amends agreement with Comerica Bank to expand existing loan facility

diaDexus, Inc. (OTCQB:DDXS), a company developing and commercializing proprietary cardiovascular diagnostic products, today announced that it has amended its agreement with Comerica Bank to expand its existing loan facility from $5 million to $10 million. The loan will start to amortize on January 1, 2014 over 36 months on a 42-month basis, with monthly interest payments at a fixed 6.45 percent interest rate, equal principal payments and an increased balloon payment of principal on the maturity date. In conjunction with this loan expansion, diaDexus issued a warrant to Comerica to purchase 96,685 shares of its common stock.

"Our base business is strong, with most cardiovascular specialty labs in the U.S. offering the PLAC® Test, and we're now planning for long-term growth focused on pipeline development and product expansion," said Brian Ward, Ph.D., diaDexus' president and chief executive officer. "This loan facility will support the identification, licensing and development of product pipeline opportunities and help us to prepare for the potential submission for clearance by the Food and Drug Administration of the PLAC Test for Lp-PLA₂ Activity in 2014."

"diaDexus has continued to make great strides with 12 consecutive quarters of year-over-year revenue growth driven by expanding the adoption of the PLAC Test, which has the potential to help physicians reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease for their patients," said Jeff Chapman, senior vice president and head of Life Sciences at Comerica. "This loan will contribute to the growth of diaDexus' sales and product pipeline."