Jun 12, 2009
June 12, 2009
BY CLAIRE MELLOR Business Reporter
A Halifax biotechnology company, which believes it has developed an effective treatment for cancer, is intending to go public to raise the money needed to begin human clinical trials.
Privately owned ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc., and Rhino Resources, a capital pool company, listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange, are proposing a reverse takeover agreement that will see ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. become a publicly traded company on the TSX-Venture Exchange.
"This funding will allow us to do a Phase 1 human clinical trial on a therapeutic vaccine, for breast, ovarian, and prostate (cancers)," Brian Lowe, vice-president of the biotechnology company, said Wednesday.
"We have been successful proving we can totally eradicate tumours in animal models, and now we want to test it in on humans."
The company, incorporated in 2,000, was spun off from research conducted at Dalhousie University.
It holds patents on vaccine delivery and enhancement technologies, which its researchers are using to develop potential treatments for cancer and infectious diseases. Phase 1 clinical trials on its therapeutic cancer vaccine, expected to begin late this year, will cost the company about $5 million.
Mr. Lowe said it’s difficult to say how much in funding the company will receive from the transaction with Rhino but that it is expected to be in excess of $5 million.
"This transaction has not closed," he said.
"The definitive agreement will be signed in the near term and at that point we will have a much clearer understanding as to how much the overall raise will be."
Rhino Resources of Halifax, already publicly listed, is a shell company that formed about 18 months ago and has been searching for investment opportunity.
"We think it is a tremendous opportunity for both Rhino shareholders and (ImmunoVaccine) shareholders," said Brian MacEachen, director of Rhino.
"We are quite excited about the science that (ImmunoVaccine) has put together, the product and platform," said Mr. MacEachen, who is CEO and president of Halifax’s Linear Metals Corp.
"We think there are some great commercial opportunities for that, and we are also very excited just about the potential impact that it can have on health care."
Under the transaction, Rhino’s shareholders will receive 2.4 million shares in ImmunoVaccine.
The biotechnology company’s current 262 shareholders hold 30.5 million shares, Mr. Lowe said.
"That will increase our number of shares to 32.9 million. Then we are doing a private placement which will cause our shares to increase by a further 7.1 million shares.
"That is raising — through a private placement — approximately $5 million at 70 cents a share."
The private placement will be "well over-subscribed," he said.
ImmunoVaccine’s current shareholders have also committed $2 million in new funding for the company.
The biotechnology company will then do a reverse takeover and change Rhino to ImmunoVaccine Technologies on the TSX-Venture Exchange.
The transaction, which is expected to close in late July, is subject to approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange and the courts.
"We will be continuing to raise money. This is why our board made the decision to go this route because we feel this will provide us with good funding opportunities," Mr. Lowe said.
"We are going to have, further down the road, Phase 2 (clinical trials), which cost $22 million."
In a news release issued this week, ImmunoVaccine Technologies Inc. lists 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.
( cmellor@herald.ca)
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