aibiouniQure amends Hercules term loan and draws $50 million to refinance debt
Tickers QURE
uniQure amended its Hercules term loan on September 22, 2025. The 2025 Term Loan is up to $175 million, $50 million was drawn at closing to refinance existing debt, and the balance depends on milestones tied to AMT-130.
Key facts
- Company
- uniQure N.V. (NASDAQ: QURE)
- News type
- Debt Financing
- Primary source
- uniQure N.V. Form 8-K filed September 24, 2025 (SEC EDGAR)
uniQure N.V. (Nasdaq: QURE) and certain affiliates signed Amendment No. 3 to their loan agreement with Hercules Capital, Inc. on September 22, 2025. The company reported the amendment in a Form 8-K filed September 24, 2025 under Items 1.01 and 2.03. The amendment creates a new term loan of up to $175 million, and the company drew $50 million at closing.
Who is named
Hercules Capital, Inc. is the administrative agent and collateral agent under the amended agreement. The amendment's signature pages list the lenders as Hercules Growth Lending Fund IV LP, Hercules Private Global Venture Growth Fund I L.P., Hercules Venture Growth Credit Opportunities Fund I L.P. and Hercules Private Credit Fund 1 L.P., among other lenders in the amendment. The 8-K and the amendment name no placement agent, underwriter or outside counsel for this loan.
What the amendment replaces
The existing agreement is the Third Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement dated December 15, 2021, which was amended in May 2023 and June 2024. The $50 million outstanding under the existing term loans as of closing is refinanced by the 2025 Term Loan. The rest of the new facility is for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Terms
Advances carry interest at the greater of 9.45% and the prime rate plus 2.45%. The principal and unpaid interest are due on October 1, 2030. Amortization in equal installments starts in October 2028, and in October 2029 if the second milestone is met. The company pays no amortization if it meets or exceeds agreed revenue targets for AMT-130 before December 31, 2028.
The company may prepay all or part of the loan, in amounts of at least $50 million unless the balance is smaller. It pays a prepayment charge of 1.50% if it prepays in the first 30 months after closing, and 0.75% after that.
The milestones behind the rest of the money
The company may draw an additional $100 million in advances of at least $25 million each, in up to two advances, if it reaches the Tranche 2 Milestone. That milestone requires the company to raise more than $150 million before March 15, 2027, and to receive approval of a Biologics License Application, or BLA, for AMT-130 before June 15, 2027. A further $25 million is available in a single advance, subject to approval by Hercules's investment committee.
The 10-K describes AMT-130, for Huntington's disease, as the company's lead product candidate, and says a failure of AMT-130 in clinical development is a risk to the business.
The company's finances
The 2024 annual report on Form 10-K reports a net loss of $239.6 million for 2024, against $308.5 million for 2023. The accumulated deficit was $1,130.0 million at December 31, 2024. Cash, cash equivalents and investment securities totaled $367.5 million, down from $617.9 million a year earlier.
The 10-K, written before this loan amendment, says net proceeds from a follow-on share offering that raised $70.1 million, together with existing cash, cash equivalents and investments, will fund operations into the second half of 2027. The milestone draws depend on a raise above $150 million and an AMT-130 approval, neither of which the filings show as complete.
What the amendment costs
The 9.45% floor and the prepayment charges set the cost of the debt, and the principal matures in October 2030. The 8-K does not estimate total interest over the life of the loan.