Protalix, Zacks/SCR and Ladenburg Thalmann In the days following the
announcement of the Bioasis /Chiesi deal I began to privately discuss with several shareholders the speculation that Protalix was also involved because of their relationship with Chiesi. It's possible that their jointly owned PRX-102 for Fabry disease will be the payload for one of the four lysosomal storage diseases (LSD) announced in the agreement. Protalix manufactures biologics using their plant cell technology called
ProCellEx. If (when) PRX-102 is approved by the FDA and other regulators it would seem obvious to make an xB3 version of it.
I have also pointed out that in the Chiesi/Bioasis announcement there seems to be phrasing that could imply that the deal involves more than four LSDs.. The press release states that Chiesi and Bioasis "...entered into a worldwide, exclusive licensing agreement for the xB3 BBB platform technology in treatment of rare diseases with a focus on four undisclosed lysosomal storage disorders..." If this phrasing is intentional, which we must assume it is, then it can mean that there may be things going on other than the stated focus on four LSDs. This could be anything including xB3-001.
I have also speculated that Protalix and Bioasis could be potential merger candidates. Protalix is essentially a manufacturing concern that wants to be a full-fledged pharmaceutical company. Protalix needs drug programs to do that. Currently they have only one drug made with ProCellEx that has been approved. Doing in-house R&D is a painfully slow and expensive process. Bioasis can create drug programs almost at will by taking already-proven drugs and repurposing them with xB3. Bioasis could be an incredible source of new programs for Protalix. As I've said before, a merger would seem to make some sense, at least on the surface.
The purpose of this piece is not to discuss the ways that a merger or acquisition might be done. I may do that in another piece. But there is one point that shareholders ought to consider. I believe that Bioasis is inherently more valuable than Protalix. It doesn't make any difference what the stock market is saying about value. If Protalix gets their hands on Bioasis for next to nothing - I don't even want to go there.
Relationships
So, back to the purpose of this piece. There are some Bioasis / Protalix / Zacks / Ladenburg Thalmann relationships that should be noted. It seems reasonable to speculate that the Chiesi/Bioasis deal resulted in the introduction of Aposense to Bioasis through Protalix. Protalix and Aposense share two officials, a director and an adviser. Aposense and Protalix are also Israeli companies.
Likewise, Zacks's analyst,
John Vandermosten, in addition to Bioasis, includes Protalix as a client. His latest update on Protalix can temporarily be found
<< here >>. Vandermosten's list of clients can be found
<< here >>. So, did Zacks become interested in Bioasis through an introduction by Protalix?
And then if you do a
Google Search for "Ladenburg Vandermosten -bioasis" you will find that Zacks/SCR's John Vandermosten has multiple interactions with Ladenburg Thalmann, outside of those with Bioasis. Did Chiesi, Protalix, Aposense, Zacks/SRC, and Ladenburg Thalmann all come into Bioasis's world at the same time, through their close relationships?
It's a pretty close bunch of people, with Protalix right in the centre of it. Bioasis, Chiesi, Protalix, Aposense, Zacks/SCR, and Ladenburg Thalmann. It won't surprise me to see Protalix's name come to the surface at some point. But then, what about J&J/Janssen, Oxyrane, Aposense and Daiichi Sankyo? How would any of these fit together in licensing deals, partnerships, mergers, acquisitions and collaborations?
There's just a whole lot of stuff going on, relationships that the players haven't discussed and deals that could get done. It's going to get interesting.
jd