Sat. Sep 26 - 4:46 AM
A Halifax biotechnology company that believes it might have a cure for cancer is poised to go public.
Privately owned ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc., and Rhino Resources, a capital pool company, listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange, are in the final stages of a reverse takeover that will see ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. become a publicly traded company on the TSX-Venture Exchange.
"We’re extremely excited and very pleased with how the whole thing is taking shape," Brian Lowe, vice-president of the biotechnology company, said Friday.
"We’re very optimistic on how the stock will perform."
He anticipated the transaction will close Tuesday after clearing legal and regulatory hurdles.
"Rhino, under this reverse takeover, will then change their name to ImmunoVaccine Inc., and when the TSX gives permission for the stock to start trading again (either late next week or early the following week) it will open under the name of ImmunoVaccine Inc. and the ticker symbol will be IMV on the TSX-Venture Exchange."
The company’s scientists implanted tumour cells in mice, and then vaccinated them.
"What we saw were the tumours were getting eliminated," said Marc Mansour, ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc.’s vice-president in charge of research and development.
"It’s very exciting. Really, that’s the Holy Grail that everybody is going after. And cancer is a very tough cookie, so people have been trying for a long time with chemotherapy and vaccines. . . . The benefit to being able to use a vaccine is it’s a lot safer than any chemotherapy."
The vaccine is trying to teach the immune system to recognize and fight off cancer cells, he said.
"The reason this platform is different than others is that it’s capable of generating a very strong immune response," said Mr. Mansour, an applied immunologist.
Phase 1 human clinical trials on the company’s therapeutic cancer vaccine, which will cost about $4.5 million, are slated to start in early 2010. They aim to prove the product is safe on humans.
"It will be at selected hospital sites in the United States under the auspices of the (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)," Mr. Lowe said.
"They will be patients that have cancers in the areas of breast, ovarian and prostate."
The company, incorporated in March 2000, was spun off from research conducted at Dalhousie University. Founder Warwick Kimmins, a former dean of science at Dal, died in August 2007.
"Ironically, he died of colon and liver cancer," Mr. Lowe said.
ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. holds patents on vaccine delivery and enhancement technologies, which its researchers are using to develop potential treatments for cancer and infectious diseases.
Rhino Resources of Halifax, already publicly listed, is a shell company that formed about 20 months ago and has been searching for investment opportunity.
Under the transaction, Rhino’s shareholders will receive 2.4 million shares in ImmunoVaccine.
"The private placement that we’re closing in advance of the (reverse takeover) . . . has been a raise of a minimum $5 million, maximum $9 million, and, with what Rhino has in their coffers, about $500,000, with what we’re raising under this private placement, we will end up with about $9 million or a little more," Mr. Lowe said.
"When I last looked this morning we were around $8.5 million and a few more still coming in. Considering what Rhino has in the bank, we should be in excellent shape."
About 45 million shares will be issued once the company goes public. Of those, 30.6 million will go to existing ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. shareholders.
"And then under the placement . . . that would cause another 12.8 million shares at 70 cents to be issued," Mr. Lowe said.
"It’s not our intention to issue any new stock."
In a news release issued in June, ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. listed assets of $2.3 million; current liabilities of $359,000, long-term debt of $3.3 million, shareholder’s deficiency of $1.3 million and a net loss of $2.6 million.
"There is no debt with Rhino and the only debts that IVT has are friendly, long-term loans repayable as a per cent of our revenue back to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency," Mr. Lowe said Friday.
"So there are not any significant liabilities other than the government support that we have received that we will have to repay."