Relypsa, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, announced it has secured a loan facility of up to $35 million with Oxford Finance LLC ("Oxford") and Silicon Valley Bank ("SVB").

Under the terms of the agreement, the company immediately drew $15 million upon closing on May 30, 2014, of which $11 million was used to repay in full the company's existing debt with Oxford and SVB, leaving the remaining $4 million available for working capital purposes. Payments on the new $15 million will be interest only through April 2015. Upon acceptance of the company's New Drug Application for patiromer by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the interest only payment period will be extended to December 2015 and the company may, at its option, draw an additional $20 million during the second half of 2015.

"We are pleased to expand our relationship with Oxford Finance and Silicon Valley Bank," said Kristine Ball, chief financial officer of Relypsa. "The new facility provides for an immediate reduction in debt service costs and allows for more non-dilutive financial flexibility as we pursue approval of our lead product candidate, patiromer."

Relypsa, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of non-absorbed polymeric drugs to treat disorders in the areas of renal, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The company's two-part pivotal Phase 3 trial of its lead product candidate, patiromer, for the treatment of hyperkalemia, a life-threatening condition defined as abnormally elevated levels of potassium in the blood, has been completed and the primary and secondary endpoints were met. Relypsa has global royalty-free commercialization rights to patiromer, which has intellectual property protection in the U.S. until at least 2030.