Update Over nine months after the announcement of the merger I was hoping for a major update and presentation concerning priorities, plans and positioning of various programs. The failure of the diagnostic wasunfortunate but shouldn't we have a solid plan B now? Now they announce that they need time for more data and to find a new President and CEO who will then provide his voice concerning the path forward. How long is it going to take to find a new leader and get him fully up-to-date? How much cash is left now and how much will be left by the time they have solidified the forward plan? No new information on the diagnostic and a plan or timeline for the next steps. How long until a meeting with regulators? On the positive side the multi-dose portion of the avenanthramide clinical trial was expected to be initiated in the summer according to the last financials. The Phase I portion is now expected to be completed by the end of the year. No update on the safety/tolerability profile. The 5X PGX scale-up is validated and the 10X scale-up is said on schedule which I take to mean expected to be completed by the end of the year as anticipated in the last financials. They were scheduled to present PGX at a conference on October 8 so maybe an update then. Previously the 5X scale-up was to provide materials for potential partners. Where is commercial interest now that the 5X scale-up is complete? Where is the CoQ10 program and why wasn'tit mentioned; including in the last financials? What is the revenue potential from the 5X scale-up and when could it be launched. What about the chewy product launch?
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Mr. Gagnon added, “The reason for creating COSCIENS and the stated goals of the Aeterna Zentaris (now COSCIENS) and Ceapro combination was, and remains:
- broadening the revenue base, product offering and pipeline;
- evaluating our combined product portfolio in an effort to create a mix of near-term revenue generating products with longer term, potentially higher reward products, while also diversifying our respective risks;
- right-sizing our administrative costs and prioritize capital with a clear focus on products and programs that have the best chance to succeed and create value inflection points; and
- taking steps to recruit future leadership talent and expertise to execute on our strategy and take COSCIENS to the next level.
The first two goals will take time to achieve – we want to ensure that we are looking at comprehensive data and market information when making key product related decisions. We also want to ensure that the next President and CEO will have a voice in key decisions as they chart the future direction of COSCIENS.”