AIM ImmunoTech Inc. - Quarter Report: 2008 September (Form 10-Q)
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
Quarterly
Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For
the
Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2008
Commission
File Number: 1-13441
HEMISPHERx
BIOPHARMA, INC.
|
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its
charter)
|
Delaware
|
52-0845822
|
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of
|
(I.R.S.
Employer
|
|
incorporation
or organization)
|
Identification
No.)
|
1617
JFK Boulevard, Suite 660, Philadelphia, PA 19103
|
(Address
of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
|
(215)
988-0080
|
(Registrant's
telephone number, including area code)
|
Not
Applicable
|
(Former
name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last
report)
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to
be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during
the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required
to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements
for
the past 90 days. x
Yes o
No
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company.
See
definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller
reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
o
Large
accelerated
filer x Accelerated
filer
o
Non-accelerated
filer o Smaller
reporting company
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act). o Yes
x
No
77,405,709
shares of common stock were issued and outstanding as of November 3, 2008.
PART
I -
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM
1:
Financial Statements
HEMISPHERx
BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Balance Sheets
(in
thousands, except share and per share data)
December
31, 2007
|
September
30, 2008
|
||||||
(Unaudited)
|
|||||||
ASSETS
|
|||||||
Current
assets:
|
|||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
$
|
11,471
|
$
|
7,592
|
|||
Short
term investments (Notes 4)
|
3,944
|
-
|
|||||
Inventories
|
511
|
864
|
|||||
Accounts
and other receivables
|
77
|
-
|
|||||
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
146
|
165
|
|||||
Assets
held for sale (Note 6)
|
450
|
385
|
|||||
Total
current assets
|
16,599
|
9,006
|
|||||
Property
and equipment, net
|
4,821
|
4,904
|
|||||
Patent
and trademark rights, net
|
958
|
981
|
|||||
Investment
|
35
|
35
|
|||||
Royalty
interest, net
|
243
|
-
|
|||||
Construction
in progress
|
469
|
-
|
|||||
Other
assets
|
17
|
17
|
|||||
Total
assets
|
$
|
23,142
|
$
|
14,943
|
|||
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
|
|||||||
Current
liabilities:
|
|||||||
Accounts
payable
|
$
|
1,118
|
$
|
1,214
|
|||
Accrued
expenses
|
1,069
|
948
|
|||||
Total
current liabilities
|
2,187
|
2,162
|
|||||
Commitments
and contingencies
|
|||||||
Stockholders’
equity (Note 5):
|
|||||||
Preferred
stock, par value $0.01 per share, authorized 5,000,000; issued and
outstanding; none
|
-
|
-
|
|||||
Common
stock, par value $0.001 per share, authorized 200,000,000 shares;
issued
and outstanding 73,760,446 and 75,431,119 respectively
|
74
|
75
|
|||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
206,078
|
207,278
|
|||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive income (loss)
|
(7
|
)
|
-
|
||||
Accumulated
deficit
|
(185,190
|
)
|
(194,572
|
)
|
|||
Total
stockholders’ equity
|
20,955
|
12,781
|
|||||
Total
liabilities and stockholders’ equity
|
$
|
23,142
|
$
|
14,943
|
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
2
HEMISPHERX
BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Statements of Operations
(in
thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three months ended September 30,
|
|
||||||
|
|
2007
|
|
2008
|
|||
Revenues:
|
|||||||
Sales
of product, net
|
$
|
251
|
$
|
-
|
|||
Clinical
treatment programs
|
34
|
17
|
|||||
Total
revenues
|
285
|
17
|
|||||
Costs
and expenses:
|
|||||||
Production/cost
of goods sold
|
216
|
199
|
|||||
Research
and development
|
2,740
|
1,594
|
|||||
General
and administrative
|
3,508
|
1,675
|
|||||
Total
costs and expenses
|
6,464
|
3,468
|
|||||
Operating
loss
|
(6,179
|
)
|
(3,451
|
)
|
|||
Interest
and other income
|
119
|
36
|
|||||
Reversal
of previously accrued interest expense
|
346
|
-
|
|||||
Financing
costs
|
(4
|
)
|
-
|
||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(5,718
|
)
|
$
|
(3,415
|
)
|
|
Basic
and diluted loss per share (Note 2)
|
$
|
(.08
|
)
|
$
|
(.05
|
)
|
|
Weighted
average shares outstanding, basic and diluted
|
72,818,720
|
74,914,805
|
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
3
HEMISPHERX
BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Statements of Operations
(in
thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
Nine months ended September 30,
|
|
||||||
|
|
2007
|
|
2008
|
|||
Revenues:
|
|||||||
Sales
of product net
|
$
|
667
|
$
|
173
|
|||
Clinical
treatment programs
|
107
|
67
|
|||||
Total
revenues
|
774
|
240
|
|||||
Costs
and expenses:
|
|||||||
Production/cost
of goods sold
|
767
|
643
|
|||||
Research
and development
|
8,450
|
4,061
|
|||||
General
and administrative
|
6,834
|
5,362
|
|||||
Total
costs and expenses
|
16,051
|
10,066
|
|||||
Operating
loss
|
(15,277
|
)
|
(9,826
|
)
|
|||
Interest
and other income
|
584
|
444
|
|||||
Reversal
of previously accrued interest expense
|
346
|
|
-
|
||||
Interest expense | (116 |
)
|
- | ||||
Financing
costs
|
(280
|
)
|
-
|
||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(14,743
|
)
|
$
|
(9,382
|
)
|
|
Basic
and diluted loss per share (Note 2)
|
$
|
(.21
|
)
|
$
|
(.13
|
)
|
|
Weighted
average shares outstanding, basic and diluted
|
71,293,392
|
74,280,332
|
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
4
HEMISPHERx
BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity and Comprehensive loss
(in
thousands except share data)
(Unaudited)
Common
stock
shares
|
Common
Stock
$.001
Par
Value
|
Additional
paid-in
capital
|
Accumulated
other
comprehensive
income
|
Accumulated
deficit
|
Total
stockholders’
equity
|
||||||||||||||
Balance at
December 31, 2007
|
73,760,446
|
$
|
74
|
$
|
206,078
|
$
|
(7
|
)
|
$
|
(185,190
|
)
|
$
|
20,955
|
||||||
Stock
issued for settlement of accounts payable
|
762,151
|
-
|
493
|
-
|
-
|
493
|
|||||||||||||
Private
placement, net of issuance costs
|
908,522
|
1
|
149
|
-
|
-
|
150
|
|||||||||||||
Equity
based compensation
|
-
|
-
|
558
|
-
|
-
|
558
|
|||||||||||||
Net
comprehensive income (loss)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
7
|
(9,382
|
)
|
(9,375
|
)
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Balance
at September 30, 2008
|
75,431,119
|
$
|
75
|
$
|
207,278
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
(194,572
|
)
|
$
|
12,781
|
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
5
HEMISPHERx
BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows
For
the
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2007 and 2008
(in
thousands)
(Unaudited)
2007
|
|
2008
|
|
||||
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
|||||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(14,743
|
)
|
$
|
(9,382
|
)
|
|
Adjustments
to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating
activities:
|
|||||||
Depreciation
of property and equipment
|
192
|
255
|
|||||
Amortization
of patent and trademark
rights, and
royalty interest
|
125
|
338
|
|||||
Financing
cost related to debt discounts
|
475
|
-
|
|||||
Equity
based compensation
|
2,286
|
558
|
|||||
Common
stock issued in payment of interest expense
|
181
|
-
|
|||||
Increase
(decrease) in assets and liabilities:
|
|||||||
Inventories
|
330
|
(353
|
)
|
||||
Accounts
and other receivables
|
(203
|
)
|
77
|
||||
Prepaid
expenses and other current
assets
|
95
|
(19
|
)
|
||||
Assets
held for sale
|
(610
|
)
|
65
|
||||
Accounts
payable
|
462
|
659
|
|||||
Accrued
expenses
|
(379
|
)
|
(48
|
)
|
|||
Net
cash used in operating activities
|
$
|
(12,007
|
)
|
$
|
(7,850
|
)
|
|
|
|||||||
Cash
flows from investing activities:
|
|||||||
Purchase
of property plant and equipment
|
$
|
2
|
$
|
(12
|
)
|
||
Additions
to patent and trademark rights
|
(126
|
)
|
(118
|
)
|
|||
Maturity
of short term investments
|
10,220
|
3,951
|
|||||
Purchase
of short term investments
|
(2,803
|
)
|
-
|
||||
|
|||||||
Net
cash provided by investing activities
|
$
|
7,293
|
$
|
3,821
|
6
HEMISPHERX
BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows (Continued)
For
the
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2007 and 2008
(in
thousands)
(Unaudited)
2007
|
2008
|
||||||
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
|||||||
Payment
of long-term debt
|
$
|
(4,102
|
)
|
$
|
-
|
||
Collection
of advance receivable
|
1,464
|
-
|
|||||
Proceeds
from sale of stock, net of issuance costs
|
10,270
|
150
|
|||||
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
$
|
7,632
|
$
|
150
|
|||
Net
increase(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
|
2,918
|
(3,879
|
)
|
||||
|
|||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents at beginning of period
|
3,646
|
11,471
|
|||||
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of period
|
$
|
6,564
|
$
|
7,592
|
|||
Supplemental
disclosures of non-cash investing and
financing cash flow information:
|
|||||||
Issuance
of common stock for accounts
payable and accrued expenses
|
$
|
229
|
$
|
493
|
|||
Unrealized
gains on investments
|
$
|
332
|
$
|
-
|
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
7
HEMISPHERx
BIOPHARMA, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE
1: BASIS OF PRESENTATION
The
consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of Hemispherx
Biopharma, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Company has three
domestic subsidiaries BioPro Corp., BioAegean Corp. and Core Biotech Corp.,
all
of which are incorporated in Delaware and are dormant. The Company’s foreign
subsidiary, Hemispherx Biopharma Europe N.V./S.A., established in Belgium in
1998, has limited or no activity. All significant intercompany balances and
transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
In
the
opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of
such
consolidated financial statements have been included. Such adjustments consist
of normal recurring items. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of
results for a full year.
The
interim consolidated financial statements and notes thereto are presented as
permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and do not contain
certain information which will be included in our annual consolidated financial
statements and notes thereto.
These
consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with our
consolidated financial statements included in our annual report on Form 10-K
for the
year
ended December 31, 2007, as filed with the SEC on March
17, 2008.
NOTE
2: NET
LOSS PER SHARE
Basic
and diluted net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number
of
shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Equivalent common shares,
consisting of stock options and warrants including the Company’s convertible
debentures, which amounted to 17,456,937 and 29,798,378 shares, are excluded
from the calculation of diluted net loss per share for the nine months ended
September 30, 2007 and 2008, respectively, since their effect is antidilutive.
NOTE
3: EQUITY BASED COMPENSATION
The
fair
value of each option award is estimated on the date of grant using a
Black-Scholes option valuation model. Expected volatility is based on the
historical volatility of the price of the Company’s stock. The risk-free
interest rate is based on U.S. Treasury issues with a term equal to the expected
life of the option. The Company uses historical data to estimate expected
dividend yield, expected life and forfeiture rates. The fair values of the
options granted, were estimated based on the following weighted average
assumptions:
Nine Months Ended September 30,
|
|||||||
2007
|
2008
|
||||||
Risk-free
interest rate
|
4.0%
- 4.90
|
%
|
2.52
- 3.74
|
%
|
|||
Expected
dividend yield
|
-
|
-
|
|||||
Expected
lives
|
5
yrs
|
2.5
- 5.0 yrs
|
|||||
Expected
volatility
|
71.64
- 77.57
|
%
|
74.00
- 79.18
|
%
|
|||
Weighted
average grant date fair value of options and warrants issued
|
$
|
2,238,000
|
$
|
474,000
|
8
Stock
option activity during the nine months ended September 30, 2008, is as
follows:
Stock
option activity for employees:
Number
of
Options
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term
(Years)
|
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
|
||||||||||
Outstanding
December 31, 2006
|
2,001,969
|
$
|
2.51
|
8.01
|
|||||||||
Options
granted
|
2,624,120
|
2.77
|
9.05
|
||||||||||
Options
forfeited
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||
Outstanding
December 31, 2007
|
4,626,089
|
2.66
|
8.25
|
-
|
|||||||||
Options
granted
|
1,465,000
|
2.22
|
10.00
|
||||||||||
Options
forfeited
|
(5,095
|
)
|
(2.33
|
)
|
-
|
|
|||||||
Outstanding
September 30, 2008
|
6,085,994
|
$
|
2.55
|
8.10
|
-
|
||||||||
Exercisable
September 30, 2008
|
5,924,326
|
$
|
2.58
|
8.15
|
-
|
The
weighted-average grant-date fair value of options granted during the nine months
ended September 30, 2007 and 2008 was approximately $1,803,000 and $318,000,
respectively.
Unvested
stock option activity for employees:
Number
of
Options
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term
(Years)
|
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
|
||||||||||
Outstanding
December 31, 2006
|
113,986
|
$
|
2.26
|
9.05
|
|||||||||
Options
granted
|
130,000
|
1.34
|
10.00
|
||||||||||
Options
vested
|
(77,223
|
)
|
(6.86
|
)
|
8.29
|
-
|
|||||||
Outstanding
December 31, 2007
|
166,763
|
1.59
|
7.18
|
-
|
|||||||||
Options
granted
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||||
Options
forfeited
|
(5,095
|
)
|
2.33
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||
Outstanding
September 30, 2008
|
161,668
|
$
|
1.57
|
6.43
|
-
|
Stock
option activity for non-employees:
Number
of
Options
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term
(Years)
|
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
|
||||||||||
Outstanding
December 31, 2006
|
1,326,732
|
$
|
2.63
|
8.18
|
|||||||||
Options
granted
|
608,750
|
1.99
|
9.94
|
||||||||||
Options
forfeited
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||
Outstanding
December 31, 2007
|
1,935,482
|
2.43
|
8.05
|
-
|
|||||||||
Options
granted
|
672,000
|
2.57
|
7.68
|
||||||||||
Options
forfeited
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||
Outstanding
September 30, 2008
|
2,607,482
|
$
|
2.47
|
7.40
|
-
|
||||||||
Exercisable
September 30, 2008
|
2,567,482
|
$
|
2.49
|
7.42
|
-
|
9
The
weighted-average grant-date fair value of options granted during the nine months
ended September 30, 2007 and 2008 was approximately $413,000 and $147,000,
respectively.
Unvested
stock option activity for non-employees during the year:
Number
of
Options
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term
(Years)
|
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
|
||||||||||
Outstanding
December 31, 2006
|
37,100
|
$
|
2.28
|
9.81
|
|||||||||
Options
granted
|
25,100
|
1.30
|
10.00
|
||||||||||
Options
forfeited
|
(22,100
|
)
|
(2.30
|
)
|
8.23
|
-
|
|||||||
Outstanding
December 31, 2007
|
40,000
|
1.50
|
9.30
|
-
|
|||||||||
Options
granted
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||||
Options
forfeited
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||
Outstanding
September 30, 2008
|
40,000
|
$
|
1.50
|
8.55
|
-
|
The
impact on the Company’s results of operations of recording equity based
compensation for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2008 was to
increase general and administrative expenses by approximately $2,262,000 and
$466,000, respectively, and reduce earnings per share by $.03 and $.01,
respectively.
As
of
December 31, 2007 and September 30, 2008, respectively, there was $164,000
and
$47,000 of unrecognized equity based compensation cost related to options
granted under the Equity Incentive Plan.
Note
4: SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS
Securities
classified as available for sale consisted of:
December 31, 2007
|
|||||||||||||
Unrealized
|
Maturity
|
||||||||||||
Name of security
|
Cost
|
Market value
|
loss
|
date
|
|||||||||
Marshall
& Isley
|
$
|
1,979,000
|
$
|
1,976,000
|
$
|
(3,000
|
)
|
March
2008
|
|||||
Intesa
Funding
|
1,972,000
|
1,968,000
|
(4,000
|
)
|
April
2008
|
||||||||
$
|
3,951,000
|
$
|
3,944,000
|
$
|
(7,000
|
)
|
10
No
investment securities were pledged to secure public funds at December 31,
2007.
The
table
below indicates the length of time individual securities have been in a
continuous unrealized loss position at December 31, 2007.
|
|
|
|
December 31, 2007
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
Less than 12 months
|
|
12 months or longer
|
|
Total
|
|
|||||||||||||
Name of
security
|
|
Number of
Securities
|
|
Fair value
|
|
Unrealized
loss
|
|
Fair
value
|
|
Unrealized
loss
|
|
Fair value
|
|
Unrealized
loss
|
||||||||
Marshall
& Isley
|
1
|
$
|
1,976,000
|
$
|
(3,000
|
)
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
1,976,000
|
$
|
(3,000
|
)
|
|||||||
Intesa
Funding
|
1
|
1,968,000
|
(4,000
|
)
|
-
|
-
|
1,968,000
|
(4,000
|
)
|
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Total
temporary impairment securities
|
2
|
$
|
3,944,000
|
$
|
(7,000
|
)
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
3,944,000
|
$
|
(7,000
|
)
|
Comprehensive
Income
The
Company reports comprehensive income, which includes net loss, as well as
certain other items, which result in a charge to equity during the period.
Three months ended
September 30
(in thousands)
|
Nine months ended
September 30
(in thousands)
|
||||||||||||
2007
|
2008
|
2007
|
2008
|
||||||||||
Unrealized
gains during the period
|
$
|
180
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
671
|
$
|
7
|
|||||
Realized
loss (gains) during the period
|
(118
|
)
|
-
|
(339
|
)
|
-
|
|||||||
Other
comprehensive income(loss)
|
$
|
62
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
332
|
$
|
7
|
There
are
no income tax effects allocated to comprehensive income as the Company has
no
tax liabilities due to net operating losses.
NOTE
5: STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
For
the
nine months ended September 30, 2008, Fusion Capital did not purchase any shares
of the Company’s common stock pursuant to the April 2006 common stock purchase
agreement between the Company and Fusion Capital.
On
February 18, 2008, the Company granted 280,000 stock options to two executive
officers and two directors of the Company under the 2004 Equity Compensation
Plan. The stock options have an exercise price of $4.00 and a term of ten years.
The stock options vested immediately upon grant. The Company utilized the
Black-Scholes Pricing Model to fair value the stock options and recorded
approximately $91,000 as equity based compensation related to this issuance
during the nine months ended September 30, 2008.
11
On
July
2, 2008, we entered into a $30 million Common Stock Purchase Agreement (the
"Purchase Agreement") with
Fusion Capital Fund II, LLC, an Illinois limited liability company.
Concurrently with entering into the Purchase Agreement, we entered into a
registration rights agreement with Fusion Capital. Under the registration rights
agreement, we filed a registration statement related to the transaction with
the
U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) covering the shares that have
been issued or may be issued to Fusion Capital under the common stock purchase
agreement. That registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on
August 12, 2008. As reported in the registration statement related to the
transaction, we have the right over a 25 month period to sell our shares of
common stock to Fusion Capital from time to time in amounts between $120,000
and
$1 million depending on certain conditions as set forth in the agreement, up
to
a maximum of $30 million. The purchase price of the shares related to the $30.0
million of future funding will be based on the prevailing market prices of
the
Company’s shares at the time of sales as computed under the Purchase Agreement
without any fixed discount, and the Company will control the timing and amount
of any sales of shares to Fusion Capital. Fusion Capital shall not have the
right or the obligation to purchase any shares of our common stock on any
business day that the price of our common stock is below $0.40. Recently, the
price of the Company’s common stock has consistently been below $0.40 and,
accordingly, no additional sales can be made to Fusion Capital unless and until
the price rises to $0.40 per share or better. The Purchase Agreement may be
terminated by us at any time at our discretion without any cost to us. There
are
no negative covenants, restrictions on future funding, penalties or liquidated
damages in the agreement. In consideration for entering into the Purchase
Agreement, we issued to Fusion Capital 650,000 shares as a commitment fee.
Also,
we will issue to Fusion Capital up to an additional 650,000 shares as a
commitment fee pro rata as we receive up to the $30.0 million of future funding.
During the three months ended September 30, 2008, Fusion has purchased 258,522
shares for $150,000 under this agreement.
The
Company has been using the proceeds from this financing to fund infrastructure
growth including manufacturing, regulatory compliance and market development.
During
the nine months ended September 30, 2008, the Company issued an aggregate
400,000 stock options and warrants under the 2004 Equity Compensation Plan
to
vendors for services provided. The stock options had various exercise prices
ranging from $0.35 to $6.00 and had terms of either five or ten years.
The
stock
options vested immediately upon grant. The Company utilized the Black-Scholes
Pricing Model to fair value the stock options and recorded approximately
$126,000 as equity based compensation related to these issuances during the
nine
months ended September 30, 2008.
On
September 17, 2008 the Company issued 1,450,000 stock options under the 2007
Equity Compensation Plan to William A. Carter, CEO for services provided. The
stock options have an exercise price of $2.20, expire in 10 years, vest
immediately and recorded as General and Administrative Expenses. The Company
utilized the Black-Scholes Pricing Model to fair value the stock options and
recorded approximately $255,000 as equity based compensation in the nine months
ended September 30, 2008. These options replaced previously issued options
that
expired unexercised.
12
The
Company also recorded $84,000 during the nine months ended September 30, 2008,
in equity based compensation related to the vesting of stock options issued
in
2006 and 2007.
NOTE
6: ASSET HELD FOR SALE
Asset
held for sale consists of equipment purchases related to the purified water
system that was to be installed at the Company’s manufacturing facility in New
Brunswick, NJ. We are reevaluating our manufacturing needs to determine the
cost/benefit for installing the purified water system as compared to selling
this asset. As a result of this process, in 2007 the Company reclassed the
Equipment of $678,000 to Asset Held for Sale and then recorded an impairment
charge of $228,000 for this water system to bring the cost down to its net
realizable value of $450,000 as per SFAS No. 144, “Accounting for the Impairment
or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets”. For the nine months ended September 30, 2008,
the Company recorded an additional $65,000 impairment charge leaving a balance
of $385,000 in Asset Held for Sale.
NOTE
7: RECENT
ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
On
February 15, 2007, the FASB issued FASB Statement No. 159, The Fair Value Option
for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities - Including an Amendment of
FASB
Statement No. 115. This standard permits an entity to choose to measure many
financial instruments and certain other items at fair value. This option is
available to all entities, including not-for-profit organizations. Most of
the
provisions in Statement 159 are elective; however, the amendment to FASB
Statement No. 115, Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity
Securities, applies to all entities with available-for-sale and trading
securities. Some requirements apply differently to entities that do not report
net income. The FASB's stated objective in issuing this standard is as follows:
"to improve financial reporting by providing entities with the opportunity
to
mitigate volatility in reported earnings caused by measuring related assets
and
liabilities differently without having to apply complex hedge accounting
provisions".
The
fair
value option established by Statement 159 permits all entities to choose to
measure eligible items at fair value at specified election dates. A business
entity will report unrealized gains and losses on items for which the fair
value
option has been elected in earnings (or another performance indicator if the
business entity does not report earnings) at each subsequent reporting date.
A
not-for-profit organization will report unrealized gains and losses in its
statement of activities or similar statement. The fair value option: (a) may
be
applied instrument by instrument, with a few exceptions, such as investments
otherwise accounted for by the equity method; (b) is irrevocable (unless a
new
election date occurs); and (c) is applied only to entire instruments and not
to
portions of instruments.
Statement
159 is effective as of the beginning of an entity's first fiscal year that
begins after November 15, 2007. The Company elected not to adopt the fair
value option for any eligible instruments.
On
December 4, 2007, the FASB issued FASB Statement No. 160,“Noncontrolling
Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements - An Amendment of ARB No.
51.”
Statement 160 establishes new accounting and reporting standards for the
noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary and for the deconsolidation of a
subsidiary. Specifically, this statement requires the recognition of a
noncontrolling interest (minority interest) as equity in the consolidated
financial statements and separate from the parent's equity. The amount of net
income attributable to the noncontrolling interest will be included in
consolidated net income on the face of the income statement. Statement 160
clarifies that changes in a parent's ownership interest in a subsidiary that
do
not result in deconsolidation are equity transactions if the parent retains
its
controlling financial interest. In addition, this statement requires that a
parent recognize a gain or loss in net income when a subsidiary is
deconsolidated. Such gain or loss will be measured using the fair value of
the
noncontrolling equity investment on the deconsolidation date. Statement 160
also
includes expanded disclosure requirements regarding the interests of the parent
and its noncontrolling interest.
13
Statement
160 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal
years, beginning on or after December 15, 2008. Earlier adoption is prohibited.
The Company believes adoption of this standard will not have an impact on the
financial condition or the results of the Company’s operations.
On
April
21, 2008, the FASB posted a revised FASB Statement No. 133 Implementation
guidance for Issues I1, Interaction of the Disclosure Requirements of Statement
133 and Statement 47, and K4, Miscellaneous: Income Statement Classification
of
Hedge Ineffectiveness and the Component of a Derivative's Gain or Loss Excluded
from the Assessment of Hedge Effectiveness. The revisions relate to the issuance
of FASB Statement No. 161, Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging
Activities. The Company believes adoption of this standard will not have an
impact on the financial condition or the results of the Company’s
operations.
The
FASB
has issued FASB Statement No. 162, The
Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
Statement 162 is intended to improve financial reporting by identifying a
consistent framework, or hierarchy, for selecting accounting principles to
be
used in preparing financial statements that are presented in conformity with
U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for nongovernmental entities.
The
hierarchy under Statement 162 is as follows:
*
FASB
Statements of Financial Accounting Standards and Interpretations, FASB Statement
133 Implementation Issues, FASB Staff Positions, AICPA Accounting Research
Bulletins and Accounting Principles Board Opinions that are not superseded
by
actions of the FASB, and Rules and interpretive releases of the SEC for SEC
registrants.
*
FASB
Technical Bulletins and, if cleared by the FASB, AICPA Industry Audit and
Accounting Guides and Statements of Position.
*
AICPA
Accounting Standards Executive Committee Practice Bulletins that have been
cleared by the FASB, consensus positions of the EITF, and Appendix D EITF
topics.
Statement
162 is effective 60 days following the SEC's approval of the PCAOB amendments
to
AU Section 411, The
Meaning of Present Fairly in Conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles.
Since
Statement 162 is only effective for nongovernmental entities, the GAAP hierarchy
will remain in AICPA Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 69, The
Meaning of "Present Fairly in Conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles" in the Independent Auditor's Report,
for
state and local governmental entities and federal governmental entities. The
Company believes the adoption of this standard will not have an impact on the
financial condition or the results of the Company’s operations.
14
The
FASB
issued FASB Statement No. 163, Accounting
for Financial Guarantee Insurance Contracts.
This new
standard clarifies how FASB Statement No. 60, Accounting
and Reporting by Insurance Enterprises,
applies
to financial guarantee insurance contracts issued by insurance enterprises,
including the recognition and measurement of premium revenue and claim
liabilities. It also requires expanded disclosures about financial guarantee
insurance contracts.
Statement
163 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning
after December 15, 2008, and all interim periods within those fiscal years,
except for disclosures about the insurance enterprise's risk-management
activities, which are effective the first period (including interim periods)
beginning after May 23, 2008. Except for the required disclosures, earlier
application is not permitted. The Company believes the adoption of this standard
will not have an impact on the financial condition or the results of the
Company’s operations.
NOTE
8 - SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
None.
ITEM
2: Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations.
Special
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain
statements in this document constitute "forwarding-looking statements" within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1995 (collectively, the
"Reform Act"). Certain, but not necessarily all, of such forward-looking
statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such
as
"believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," or "anticipates" or the negative
thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, or by discussions
of strategy that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than
statements of historical fact, included in this report regarding our financial
position, business strategy and plans or objectives for future operations are
forward-looking statements. Without limiting the broader description of
forward-looking statements above, we specifically note that statements regarding
potential drugs, their potential therapeutic effect, the possibility of
obtaining regulatory approval, our ability to manufacture and sell any products,
market acceptance or our ability to earn a profit from sales or licenses of
any
drugs or our ability to discover new drugs in the future are all forward-looking
in nature.
Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors, including but not limited to, the risk factors discussed below,
which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Hemispherx
and its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements and other factors referenced in this report. We do not undertake
and
specifically decline any obligation to publicly release the results of any
revisions which may be made to any forward-looking statement to reflect events
or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence
of anticipated or unanticipated events.
15
Overview
General
We
are a
biopharmaceutical company engaged in the clinical development, manufacture,
marketing and distribution of new drug therapies based on natural immune system
enhancing technologies for the treatment of viral and immune based chronic
disorders. The Company was founded in the early 1970s doing contract research
for the National Institutes of Health. Since that time, we have established
a
strong foundation of laboratory, pre-clinical, and clinical data with respect
to
the development of nucleic acids to enhance the natural antiviral defense system
of the human body and to aid the development of therapeutic products for the
treatment of certain chronic diseases. We
have
three domestic subsidiaries BioPro Corp., BioAegean Corp., and Core BioTech
Corp., all of which are incorporated in Delaware and are dormant. Our foreign
subsidiaries include Hemispherx Biopharma Europe N.V./S.A. established in
Belgium in 1998. Hemispherx Biopharma Europe N.V./S.A. has little or no
activity.
Our
current strategic focus is derived from four applications of our two core
pharmaceutical technology platforms Ampligen® and Alferon N Injection®. The
commercial focus for Ampligen® includes application as a treatment for Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome (“CFS”) and as a vaccine enhancer (adjuvant) for both
therapeutic and preventative vaccine development. Alferon N Injection® is an FDA
approved product with an indication for refractory or recurring genital warts.
Alferon LDO (Low Dose Oral) is an application currently under development
targeting influenza and viral diseases both as an adjuvant as well as a single
entity anti-viral.
Ampligen®
is an experimental drug currently undergoing clinical development for the
treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (“CFS”). In August 2004, we completed a
Phase III clinical trial (“AMP 516”) treating over 230 CFS patients with
Ampligen® and are presently in the registration process for a new drug
application (“NDA”) with the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). Over its
developmental history, Ampligen® has received various designations, including
Orphan Drug Product Designation (FDA), Emergency (compassionate) Cost Recovery
Sales Authorization (FDA) and “promising” clinical outcome recognition based on
the evaluation of certain summary clinical reports (AHRQ, Agency Health Research
Quality). Ampligen® represents the first drug in the class of RNA (nucleic acid)
molecules to apply for NDA review. For an update on the filing status of our
Ampligen® New Drug Application filed on October 10, 2007, see “Research and
Development Costs” contained within this section below.
On
July
7, 2008, the FDA accepted for review our NDA for Ampligen®,
an
experimental therapeutic, to treat CFS, originally submitted in October 2007.
We
are seeking marketing approval for the first-ever treatment for CFS. At present,
only supportive, symptom-based care is available for CFS patients. The NDA
for
Ampligen®,
whose
chemical designation is poly I : poly C12U, is also the first ever accepted
for
review by the FDA for systemic use of a toll-like receptor therapy to treat
any
condition.
The
Status of our initiative for Ampligen® as an adjuvant for preventative vaccine
development includes the pre-clinical studies in seasonal and pandemic influenza
for intranasal administration being conducted by Japan’s National Institute for
Infectious Diseases. A three year program targeting regulatory approval for
pandemic flu and seasonal flu in Japan has been funded by the Japanese Ministry
of Health. Parties to the research grant include Hemispherx, the NIID and BIKEN
(operational arm of the non-profit Foundation for Microbial Disease of Osaka
University). Our agreement with BIKEN is part of a three party agreement to
develop an effective influenza vaccine for Japan and utilizes the resources
of
the National Institute of Infectious Disease of Japan. Our development strategy
includes reproduction of preclinical studies outside Japan and completion of
the
three year program. It is our intent to conduct human studies in the US and
other countries and seek approval for seasonal and pandemic indications in
the
US and Europe for intranasal administration. A phase II study for intramuscular
administration for seasonal flu is currently being conducted in Australia
through the St. Vincent’s Hospital Clinical Trials Centre and is now fully
enrolled. This clinical study is expected to be completed in December of
2008.
16
Based
on
the results of published, peer reviewed pre-clinical studies and clinical
trials, we believe that Ampligen® may have broad-spectrum anti-viral and
anti-cancer properties. Over 1,000 patients have participated in the Ampligen®
clinical trials representing the administration of more than 90,000 doses of
this drug.
Alferon
N
Injection® is the registered trademark for our injectable formulation of natural
alpha interferon, which is approved by the FDA for the treatment of genital
warts. Alferon N Injection® is also in clinical development for treating West
Nile Virus.
Commercial
sales of Alferon N Injection®
were
halted in April 2008 as the current expiration date of our finished goods
inventory expired in March 2008. The FDA has declined to respond to our requests
for an extension of the expiration date, therefore we consider the request
to be
denied. Since our testing of the product indicates that it is not impaired
and
could be safely utilized, the finished goods inventory of 2,745 Alferon N
Injection® 5ml vials may be used to produce approximately 11,000,000 sachets of
Low Dose Oral Alferon (LDO) for future clinical trials.
Production
of Alferon N injection® from our work-in-progress inventory, which has an
approximate expiration date of 2012, has been put on hold at this time due
to
the resources needed to prepare our New Brunswick facility for the FDA
preapproval inspection with respect to our Ampligen® NDA. Work on the Alferon N
Injection® is expected to resume in mid-2009 under the condition that adequate
funding is obtained, which means that we may not have any Alferon N Injection®
product commercially available until 2010.
We
do not
believe that our current and planned experimental programs involving Alferon
N
Injection® and Alferon LDO, including our anticipated clinical trials, will be
materially affected by this situation.
We
own
and operate a 43,000 sq. ft. FDA approved facility in New Brunswick, NJ
primarily designed to produce Alferon N Injection®. In 2006, we completed the
installation of a polymer production line to produce Ampligen® raw materials on
a more reliable and consistent basis.
We
outsource certain components of our research and development, manufacturing,
marketing and distribution while maintaining control over the entire process
through our quality assurance group and our clinical monitoring
group.
401(K)
Plan
We
have a
defined contribution plan, titled Hemispherx Biopharma Employees 401(k) Plan
and
Trust Agreement (the 401(k) Plan). Full time members are eligible to participate
in the 401(k) Plan following one year of employment. Subject to certain
limitations imposed by federal laws and contribution limitation on those
designated as Highly Compensated Employees by the 401(k) plan, participants
are
eligible to contribute up to 15% of their salary (including bonuses and/or
commissions) per annum. Each participant immediately vests regarding his or
her
deferred salary contributions while our contributions vest over one year.
17
Effective
March 15, 2008, we ended our 100% matching of up to 6% of the 401(k)
contributions provided to the account for each eligible participant. Our 401(k)
Plan contribution cost for the nine months ended September 30, 2008 is $20,421
with no company matching costs projected regarding the plan for the remaining
of
calendar year 2008.
New
Accounting Pronouncements
Refer
to
“NOTE 7: RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUCEMENTS” under Notes To Unaudited Condensed
Consolidated Financial Statements.
Disclosure
About Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
None.
Critical
Accounting Policies
There
have been no material changes in our critical accounting policies and estimates
from those disclosed in Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2007.
RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS
Three
months ended September
30, 2007 versus three months ended September 30, 2008
Net
loss
Our
net
loss of approximately $3,415,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2008
was $2,303,000 or 40% lower when compared to the same period in 2007. This
decrease in loss was primarily due to:
1)
|
Research
and Development costs in 2007 include significant expenses related
to the
preparation of the Ampligen® NDA as well as expenses related to the
production of Ampligen® for use in stability studies. Research and
development expenses in 2008 were down approximately $1,146,000 as
compared to the same period in 2007.
|
2)
|
There
were no sales of Alferon N Injection® for the three months ended September
30, 2008, as finished goods inventory has reached its current product
expiration date of March 31, 2008. Sales of Alferon N Injection® for the
three months ended September 30, 2007, amounted to approximately
$251,000.
|
3)
|
General
and administrative expenses decreased approximately $1,833,000 during
the
current quarter as compared to the prior period primarily due to
the
reduction of Stock Compensation Expense for approximately $1,814,000
for
the three months ended September 30,
2008.
|
4)
|
Interest
and other income decreased $83,000 for the three months ended September
30, 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007 due to a reduction
in
Short Term Investments for marketable securities in the current period
as
compared to the prior period.
|
18
5)
|
In
September 2007, an increase of $346,000 in other income occurred
due to
the reversal of accrued liquidated damages in 2006 with respect to
our
debentures holders as a result of our failure to timely file our
2005
Audit Report on Form 10-K. These damages related to certain debenture
covenants were settled without charge in the maturation and pay down
of
the debenture holder’s outstanding loan balances in
2007.
|
Net
loss
per share was $0.05 for the current period versus $0.08 for the same period
in
2007.
Revenues
Revenues
for the three months ended September 30, 2008 were $17,000 compared to revenues
of $285,000 for the same period in 2007. There were no revenues related to
the
sale of Alferon N Injection®
for
this
period in 2008 versus $251,000 in 2007. Revenues from our Ampligen®
cost
recovery program were down $17,000 as fewer patients are participating in the
program. Commercial sales of Alferon N Injection®
were
halted in April 2008 as the current expiration date of our finished goods
inventory expired in March 2008. As a result, we have no product to sell and
all
$17,000 of Revenue was generated from clinical treatment programs.
Major
efforts of the New Brunswick manufacturing staff were redirected throughout
year
2008 to the upcoming preapproval FDA inspection of the Ampligen®
program.
Work
on
the Alferon N Injection® is expected to resume in mid-2009 under the condition
that adequate funding is obtained, which means that we may not have any Alferon
N Injection® product commercially available until 2010.
Production
costs/cost of goods sold
Production/cost
of goods sold was approximately $216,000 and $199,000, respectively, for the
three months ended September 30, 2007 and 2008. This represented a decrease
of
approximately $17,000 or 7% as compared to the same period in 2007. These costs
primarily represent: 1) costs of goods sold of approximately $95,000 and $0,
respectively, for the three months ended September 30, 2007 and 2008, 2) testing
and reporting costs incurred in our attempt to have the FDA extend the
commercial sales life of our Alferon Finished Goods and 3) costs to maintain
Alferon N Injection®
work-in-process Inventory including stability tests and indirect overhead.
Our
Alferon N Injection®
work-in-process
(“WIP”), with an approximate expiration of 2012, should produce approximately
7,500 doses when completed. At this time we have put further work on the WIP
on
hold as we are applying our New Brunswick resources to the task of preparing
our
plant for an FDA Pre-approval Inspection in connection with the
Ampligen®
NDA
review process.
Research
and development costs
Overall
research and development costs for the three months ended September
30,
2008
were $1,594,000 as compared to $2,740,000 for the same period a year ago
reflecting a decrease of $1,146,000 or 42%.
This
decrease was primarily due to reduced outside consulting fees and other costs
related to the preparation and filing of our NDA for Ampligen®.
19
On
July
7, 2008 we were notified that the FDA accepted for review our amended NDA filing
for using Ampligen® to treat CFS. FDA approval of this application would provide
the first-ever treatment for CFS. At present, only supportive symptom-based
care
is available for CFS patients. While we are optimistic, there are no assurances
that the NDA will be approved. Over the summer of 2008, our clinical monitors
visited our sites associated with our AMP-511 cost recovery treatment program
for the collection and audit of additional data to be submitted to the FDA
in
support of our NDA for CFS currently under review. FDA inspections of several
clinical sites did not result in the issuance of any “483” reports indicating
lack of compliance with various regulations governing clinical
trials.
We
are
preparing for the preapproval inspection by the U.S. FDA for manufacturing
of
Ampligen® product and its starting materials, polynucleotides Poly I and Poly
C12U. A satisfactory recommendation from the FDA Office of Compliance
based upon an acceptable preapproval inspection is required prior to approval
of
the product. The preapproval inspection determines compliance with current
Good
Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) as well as a product specific evaluation
concerning the manufacturing process of product. Currently, Hemispherx’s
personnel are working diligently towards a successful preapproval inspection.
The activities include many aspects of the cGMP requirements, such as
manufacturing process validation, equipment qualification, analytical method
validation, facility cleaning, quality systems, documentation system and part
11
compliance. On September 19, 2008, we executed an agreement with Lovelace
Respiratory Research Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico to perform certain
animal toxic studies in support of our Ampligen® NDA. These studies were
requested by the FDA and will be done in collaboration with the resources of
the
New Brunswick facility. We expect these studies to be complete in January
2009.
We
are
also engaged in ongoing, experimental studies assessing the efficacy of
Ampligen®, Alferon N Injection®, and Alferon LDO against influenza viruses as a
single adjuvant agent antiviral with Japan’s National Institute of Infectious
disease, Biken (the non-profit operational arm of the Foundation for Microbial
Diseases of Osaka University) and St. Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst,
Australia. No further results have been reported by Defence R&D Canada with
respect to their independent study assessing the efficacy of Ampligen® against
Influenza viruses as a single agent antiviral.
The
Biken
arrangement was concluded in December 2007 and basically consists of Biken
purchasing Ampligen® from us for use in conducting further animal studies of
intranasal prototype vaccines containing antigens from influenza sub-types
H1N1,
H3N2 and B progressing to human studies with all programs supported by the
Japanese Health Ministry. Under the terms of the non—exclusive licensing
arrangement, we will receive royalties as well as income for all Ampligen® used
in the ongoing experimental work and any subsequent marketing of Ampligen® as an
immuno-enhancer for flu vaccines delivered intranasally in Japan. To date,
only
two or three pharma companies worldwide have achieved regulatory authorizations
to sell intranasally (IN) administered influenza vaccines versus many companies
receiving approval for intramuscular vaccine delivery routes. Safety has been
paramount in developing effective treatments. However, animal studies to date
indicate Ampligen®, an experimental drug, may be safely administered
intranasally. Clinical studies (in other disorders) have built a database of
more than 90,000 injections of Ampligen® when given parenterally (intravenous,
or “IV”). In June 2008, Biken notified us they were accelerating their program
and requested additional Ampligen® supplies for various preclinical vaccine
studies. A
secondary goal of the trial is to evaluate whether antibodies stimulated by
the
vaccine/Ampligen® combination also provide protection against H5N1, the avian
influenza virus. Since 2003, the World Health Organization has attributed 241
human deaths worldwide to H5N1. Investigators from Japan’s Institute of
Infectious Disease have conducted studies in animals that suggest that Ampligen®
can stimulate a sufficiently broad immune response to provide cross-protection
against a range of virus strains, including H5N1.
20
We
completed enrollment in our Phase II clinical trial to evaluate the safety
and
efficacy of Ampligen® as an enhancer for seasonal influenza vaccine. This study
is being monitored by Clinical Network Services Pty. Ltd. located in Brisbane,
Australia. The clinical trials center of St. Vincent’s Hospital based in
DarlingHurst, Australia is conducting the trial. This
clinical study is expected to be completed in the Fall of 2008. The
data
is being analyzed from the single-center study in Australia in which 38 healthy
volunteers between 60 and 80 years of age who have not received this year’s
seasonal flu vaccine. Study subjects were randomized into groups receiving
vaccine plus Ampligen® or vaccine plus a placebo. Under the double-blinded
structure of the trial, neither study subjects nor clinicians conducting the
trial know which subjects are receiving Ampligen® or placebo until final results
are recorded. Efforts will be made to determine whether cross-protection, seen
in monkey studies, is also observed in human studies with
Ampligen®.
As
reported in the Journal of American Medical Association in 2003 by Thompson,
Shay, Weintraub, Brammer, Cox, Anderson, et al. seasonal influenza kills
approximately 36,000 Americans annually, most over the age of 70. In 2004 in
JAMA, the same authors attributed 200,000 U.S. hospital admissions annually
to
seasonal flu.
Collaboration
studies in non-human primates conducted by ViroClinics in the Netherlands
suggest a potential role for Alferon LDO as another novel therapeutic approach
to viral pandemics. Meetings with prospective partners are underway with respect
to conducting clinical trials using Alferon LDO to treat and/or prevent seasonal
influenza in the Pacific Rim countries.
Alferon
LDO is now poised for clinical trials against seasonal influenza epidemics;
meetings with prospective partners are ongoing to conduct clinical trials in
the
Pacific Rim countries and elsewhere. The opportunity for Alferon LDO is
reinforced by new reports of severe side effects secondary to Tamiflu, the
present standard of care, by both the FDA and Japanese health authorities.
Also,
Tamiflu resistant strains of flu virus are now raising serious concerns on
a
world-wide basis.
General
and Administrative Expenses
General
and Administrative (“G&A”) expenses for the three months ended September 30,
2007 and 2008 were approximately $3,508,000 and $1,675,000, respectively,
reflecting a decrease of $1,833,000 or 52%. This
decrease relates primarily to the
reduction of Stock Compensation Expense for approximately $1,814,000 for the
three months ended September 30, 2008.
Reversal
of Previously Accrued Interest Expense
We
had no
reversal of previously accrued interest expense for the three months ended
September 30, 2008 as compared to the $346,000 for the same period in 2007.
This
September 2007 item, classified as other income, resulted from the reversal
of
accrued liquidated damages in 2006 related to a certain covenant in our
debenture agreements. These charges were incurred as a result of our failure
to
timely file our 2005 Annual Report on Form 10-K and our report on Form 10-Q
for
the quarterly period ended March 31, 2006 with the SEC pursuant to the 1934
Act.
These liquidated damages were not included as part of the maturation and pay
down of the debenture holder’s outstanding loan balances.
21
Interest
and Other Income
Interest
and other income for the three months ended September 30, 2007 and 2008 was
$119,000 and $36,000, respectively, representing a decrease of $83,000 or 70%.
The decrease in interest and other income during the current period was mainly
due to a reduction in the holding of Short Term Investments for $3,944,000
as
marketable securities in the current period as compared to the prior
period.
Interest
Expense and Financing Costs
We
had no
interest expense or non-cash financing costs for the three months ended
September 30, 2007 and 2008.
Nine
months ended September
30, 2007 versus nine months ended September 30, 2008
Net
loss
Our
net
loss of approximately $9,382,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2008
was $5,361,000 or 36% lower when compared to the same period in 2007. This
decrease in loss was primarily due to:
1)
|
Research
and Development costs in 2007 include significant expenses related
to the
preparation of the Ampligen® NDA as well as expenses related to the
production of Ampligen® for use in stability studies and preparation of
pre commercial lots for regulatory review purposes. Research and
development expenses in 2008 were down approximately $4,389,000 as
compared to the same period in 2007.
|
2)
|
There
were no sales of Alferon N Injection® for the last six months as finished
goods inventory has reached its current product expiration date of
March
31, 2008. Sales of Alferon N Injection® for the nine months ended
September 30, 2008 and 2007 amounted to approximately $173,000 and
$667,000, respectively for a reduction of
$494,000.
|
3)
|
General
and administrative expenses decreased approximately $1,472,000 during
the
nine months ended September 30, 2008 versus the same period a year
ago
primarily due to reductions in the cost of Stock Compensation of
$1,704,000, Director Fees for $125,000 and Accounting Fees of $73,000
that
were offset with an increase of Legal Fees for $506,000 resulting
from
litigation.
|
4)
|
Interest
and other income decreased $140,000 for the nine months ended September
30, 2008 as compared to the same period in 2007 due to a reduction
in the
holding of Short Term Investments for $3,944,000 as marketable securities
in the current period as compared to the prior
period.
|
5)
|
In
2007, we had financing costs and interest expense of $280,000 and
$116,000, respectively, related to our convertible debentures. These
convertible debentures were paid off in June 2007. No financing costs
or
interest charges were incurred during the current period related
to these
debentures.
|
22
6)
|
In
September 2007, an increase of $346,000 in other income occurred
due to
the reversal of accrued liquidated damages in 2006 with respect to
our
debentures holders as a result of our failure to timely file our
2005
Audit Report on Form 10-K. These damages related to certain debenture
covenants were settled without charge in the maturation and pay down
of
the debenture holder’s outstanding loan balances in
2007.
|
Net
loss
per share was $0.13 for the current period versus $0.21 for the same period
in
2007.
Revenues
Revenues
for the nine months ended September 30, 2008 were $240,000 compared to revenues
of $774,000 for the same period in 2007. Revenues related to the sale of Alferon
N Injection®
for
the
nine months ended September 30, 2008 were $173,000 versus $667,000 in 2007.
The
primary reason for the 74% drop in sales for the nine months ended September
30,
2008 is that commercial sales of Alferon N Injection®
were
halted in April 2008 as the current expiration date of our finished good
inventory expired in March 2008. As a result, we had no product to sell for
the
last six months. Revenues from our Ampligen®
cost
recovery program were down $40,000 or 37% as fewer patients are participating
in
the program. Our clinical staff discouraged cost recovery clinical enrollments
in order that resources could address the NDA and related documents preparatory
to filing for a full commercial license.
Production
costs/cost of goods sold
Production/cost
of goods sold was approximately $767,000 and $643,000, respectively, for the
nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2008. This represented a decrease
of
approximately $124,000 or 16% as compared to the same period in 2007. These
costs primarily represent: 1) costs of goods sold of approximately $273,000
and
$60,000, respectively, for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2008,
and 2) Costs to maintain Alferon N Injection Inventory including storage,
stability testing and reporting costs incurred in our attempt to have the FDA
extend the commercial sales life of our Alferon N Injection®
Finished
Goods. The primary reason for the decrease in costs can be attributed to the
lack of Alferon N Injection®
sales
since April 1, 2008 and its impact on costs of goods sold.
Research
and development costs
Overall
research and development costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2008
were
$4,061,000 as compared to $8,450,000 for the same period a year ago reflecting
a
decrease of $4,389,000 or 52%. This decrease was primarily due to reduced
outside consulting fees related to the preparation and filing of our NDA for
Ampligen®.
For more detail on Research and Development costs, please see above discussion
on “Research and Development Costs” contained within the discussion on results
of Operations for the three months ended September 30, 2007 versus three months
ended September 30, 2008.
General
and Administrative Expenses
General
and Administrative (“G&A”) expenses for the nine months ended September 30,
2007 and 2008 were approximately $6,834,000 and $5,362,000, respectively,
reflecting a decrease of $1,472,000 or 22% primarily due to reductions in the
cost of Stock Compensation of $1,704,000, Director Fees for $125,000 and
Accounting Fees of $73,000 that were offset with an increase of Legal Fees
for
$506,000 resulting from litigation.
23
Reversal
of Previously Accrued Interest Expense
We
had no
reversal of previously accrued interest expense for the nine months ended
September 30, 2008 as compared to the $346,000 for the same period in 2007.
This
September 2007 item, classified as other income, resulted from the reversal
of
accrued liquidated damages in 2006 related to a certain covenant in our
debenture agreements. These charges were incurred as a result of our failure
to
timely file our 2005 Annual Report on Form 10-K and our report on Form 10-Q
for
the quarterly period ended March 31, 2006 with the SEC pursuant to the 1934
Act.
These liquidated damages were not included as part of the maturation and pay
down of the debenture holder’s outstanding loan balances.
Interest
and Other Income
Interest
and other income for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2008 was
$584,000 and $444,000, respectively, representing a decrease of $140,000 or
24%.
The decrease in interest and other income during the current period was mainly
due to a reduction in the holding of Short Term Investments for $3,944,000
as
marketable securities in the current period as compared to the prior period.
Interest
Expense and Financing Costs
We
had no
interest expense or non-cash financing costs for the nine months ended September
30, 2008 as compared to $396,000 for the same period a year ago. The expenses
reflected for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 reflect financing costs
and interest charges related to our convertible debentures which matured in
June
2007 when all outstanding loan balances were paid.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Cash
used
in operating activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2008 was
$7,850,000 compared to $12,007,000 for the same period in 2007. This reduction
reflects lower expenditures primarily related to the preparation of our
Ampligen® NDA which was finalized and filed with the FDA in October 2007. Cash
used in operating activities in 2007 included the extensive costs of preparing
the NDA. Cash provided by investing activities during the nine months ended
September 30, 2007 and 2008 totaled $7,293,000 and $3,821,000, respectively,
primarily due to the maturity of short term investments. We had proceeds from
financing activities of $150,000 during the nine months ended September 30,
2008. As of September 30, 2008, we had approximately $7,592,000 in cash and
cash
equivalents and short-term investments, or a decrease of approximately
$7,823,000 from December 31, 2007.
We
have
been using the proceeds from financing to fund infrastructure growth including
manufacturing, regulatory compliance and market development. Due to the current
market conditions, we are unable to raise funds pursuant to the terms of the
Fusion Capital Stock Purchase Agreement (see Equity Financing below).
Based
on
our estimate, we anticipate that our existing funds should be sufficient to
meet
our operating cash requirements for approximately 10 months.
24
Equity
Financing
On
July
2, 2008, we entered into a $30 million Common Stock Purchase Agreement (the
"Purchase Agreement") with
Fusion Capital Fund II, LLC, an Illinois limited liability company.
Concurrently with entering into the Purchase Agreement, we entered into a
registration rights agreement with Fusion Capital. Under the registration rights
agreement, we agreed to file a registration statement related to the transaction
with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) covering the shares
that have been issued or may be issued to Fusion Capital under the common stock
purchase agreement. The SEC declared effective the registration statement on
August 12, 2008. We have the right over a 25 month period to sell our shares
of
common stock to Fusion Capital from time to time in amounts between $120,000
and
$1 million depending on certain conditions as set forth in the agreement, up
to
a maximum of $30 million. The purchase price of the shares related to the $30.0
million of future funding will be based on the prevailing market prices of
our
shares at the time of sales as computed under the Purchase Agreement without
any
fixed discount, and we will control the timing and amount of any sales of shares
to Fusion Capital. Fusion Capital shall not have the right or the obligation
to
purchase any shares of our common stock on any business day that the price
of
our common stock is below $0.40. Recently, the price of our common stock has
consistently been below $0.40 and, accordingly, no additional sales can be
made
to Fusion Capital unless and until the price rises to $0.40 per share or better.
The Purchase Agreement may be terminated by us at any time at our discretion
without any cost to us. There are no negative covenants, restrictions on future
funding, penalties or liquidated damages in the agreement. In consideration
for
entering into the Purchase Agreement, upon execution of the Purchase Agreement
we issued to Fusion Capital 650,000 shares as a commitment fee. Also, we will
issue to Fusion Capital up to an additional 650,000 shares as a commitment
fee
pro rata as we receive up to the $30.0 million of future funding.
In
August, 2008 we registered 21,300,000 shares pursuant to the terms of this
agreement. Under the rules of the NYSE Alternext US (formerly, the American
Stock Exchange), we may issue no more than 14,823,651 shares (19.99% of our
outstanding shares as of July 2, 2008, the date of the purchase agreement)
without first obtaining the approval of stockholders. We are currently seeking
stockholder approval to issue the additional 6,476,349 shares. As of September
30, 2008, we have executed transactions pursuant the Fusion
Capital Stock Purchase Agreement valued at $150,000 and 258,522
shares.
The
proceeds from this financing have been used to fund infrastructure growth
including manufacturing, regulatory compliance and market
development.
In
April
2006 we entered into a prior common stock purchase agreement with Fusion
Capital, pursuant to which we sold an aggregate of 10,682,032 shares for total
gross proceeds of approximately $19,739,000 through November, 2007.
This
agreement expired on July 31, 2008.
Because
of our long-term capital requirements, we may seek to access the public equity
market whenever conditions are favorable, even if we do not have an immediate
need for additional capital at that time. In this regard we also have previously
registered $50,000,000 worth of our securities in a universal shelf registration
statement, none of which has been designated or issued. We are unable to
estimate the amount, timing or nature of future sales of outstanding common
stock or instruments convertible into or exercisable for our common stock.
Any
additional funding may result in significant dilution and could involve the
issuance of securities with rights, which are senior to those of existing
stockholders. We may also need additional funding earlier than anticipated,
and
our cash requirements, in general, may vary materially from those now planned,
for reasons including, but not limited to, changes in our research and
development programs, clinical trials, competitive and technological advances,
the regulatory processes, including the commercializing of Ampligen®
products.
25
There
can
be no assurances that we will raise adequate funds from these or other sources,
which may have a material adverse effect on our ability to develop our products.
Also,
we
have the ability to curtail discretionary spending, including some research
and
development activities, if required to conserve cash.
ITEM
3: Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market
Risk
We
had
approximately $7,592,000 in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments
at September 30, 2008. To the extent that our cash and cash equivalents and
short term investments exceed our near term funding needs, we generally invest
the excess cash in three to twelve month interest bearing financial instruments.
We employ established conservative policies and procedures to manage any risks
with respect to investment exposure.
Our
financial instruments that are exposed to concentrations of credit risk consist
primarily of cash and cash equivalents. We place our cash and cash equivalents
with what management believes to be high credit quality institutions. At times
such investments may be in excess of the FDIC insurance limit.
We
have
not entered into, and do not expect to enter into, financial instruments for
trading or hedging purposes.
Item
4: Controls and Procedures
Our
Chairman of the Board (serving as the principal executive officer) and the
Chief
Financial Officer performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure
controls and procedures, which have been designed to permit us to effectively
identify and timely disclose important information. In designing and evaluating
the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognized that any controls
and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only
reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management
is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship
of
possible controls and procedures. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the controls and procedures
were effective as of September 30, 2008 to ensure that material information
was
accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions
regarding required disclosure.
During
the quarter ended September 30, 2008, we have made no change in our internal
controls over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is
reasonably
likely
to materially affect, our internal controls over financial
reporting.
Part
II - OTHER INFORMATION
Item
1. Legal Proceedings
In
July
2008, we settled all outstanding legal issues with Bioclones (Proprietary),
Ltd.
and Ribotech (Pty), with no damages being paid by any of the parties, the
termination of the 1994 agreement between us and Bioclones (Proprietary) Ltd.
being confirmed and our retention of our equity position in Ribotech (Pty)
Ltd.
As a result of the settlement, we are in the process of dismissing Bioclones
(Proprietary) Ltd. and Cyril Donninger from the multi-count complaint we filed
in December 2004 in the Federal District Court in the Southern District of
Florida which is now on appeal to the 11th
Federal
Circuit Court of Appeals. Also, as a result of the settlement, Bioclones
(Proprietary) Ltd. is in the process of dismissing the arbitration proceeding
it
initiated against us in January 2007 in South Africa and we are in the process
of dismissing the application we filed in January 2007 in South Africa for
the
dissolution of Ribotech (PTY), Ltd.
26
In
June
2008, we settled the arbitration proceeding initiated in December 2007 by
Laboratorios del Dr. Esteve, with both parties waiving all claims to damages
and
it being agreed that the March 2002 agreement between us and Laboratorios del
Dr. Esteve has been terminated.
In
July
2008, the arbitration proceeding initiated in March 2007 against us by Cedric
Philipp (“Philipp”) was concluded with all claims against us by Philipp being
denied.
See
our
Form 10-K for the period ending December 31, 2007 for previously reported legal
proceedings.
ITEM
1A. Risk Factors.
The
following cautionary statements identify important factors that could cause
our
actual result to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements made in this Form 10-Q. Among the key factors that have a direct
bearing on our results of operations are:
Risks
Associated With Our Business
No
assurance of successful product development.
Ampligen®
and related products.
The
development of Ampligen® and
our
other related products is subject to a number of significant risks.
Ampligen® may
be
found to be ineffective or to have adverse side effects, fail to receive
necessary regulatory clearances, be difficult to manufacture on a commercial
scale, be uneconomical to market or be precluded from commercialization by
proprietary right of third parties. Our products are in various stages of
clinical and pre-clinical development and require further clinical studies
and
appropriate regulatory approval processes before any such products can be
marketed. We do not know when, if ever, Ampligen® or
our
other products will be generally available for commercial sale for any
indication. Generally, only a small percentage of potential therapeutic products
are eventually approved by the FDA for commercial sale. Please see the next
risk
factor.
Alferon
N Injection®.
Although Alferon N Injection® is approved for marketing in the United States for
the intra-lesional treatment of refractory or recurring external genital warts
in patients 18 years of age or older, to date it has not been approved for
other
indications. We face many of the risks discussed above, with regard to
developing this product for use to treat other ailments.
27
Our
drug and related technologies are investigational and subject to regulatory
approval. If we are unable to obtain regulatory approval, our operations will
be
significantly adversely affected.
All
of
our drugs and associated technologies, other than Alferon N Injection®, are
investigational and must receive prior regulatory approval by appropriate
regulatory authorities for general use and are currently legally available
only
through clinical trials with specified disorders. At present, Alferon N
Injection® is only approved for the intra-lesional treatment of refractory or
recurring external genital warts in patients 18 years of age or older. Use
of
Alferon N Injection® for other indications will require regulatory
approval.
Our
products, including Ampligen®, are subject to extensive regulation by numerous
governmental authorities in the U.S. and other countries, including, but not
limited to, the FDA in the U.S., the Health Protection Branch (“HPB”) of Canada,
and the Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (“EMEA”) in Europe.
Obtaining regulatory approvals is a rigorous and lengthy process and requires
the expenditure of substantial resources. In order to obtain final regulatory
approval of a new drug, we must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the
regulatory agency that the product is safe and effective for its intended uses
and that we are capable of manufacturing the product to the applicable
regulatory standards. We require regulatory approval in order to market
Ampligen® or any other proposed product and receive product revenues or
royalties. We cannot assure you that Ampligen® will ultimately be demonstrated
to be safe or efficacious. In addition, while Ampligen® is authorized for use in
clinical trials including a cost recovery program in the United States and
Europe, we cannot assure you that additional clinical trial approvals will
be
authorized in the United States or in other countries, in a timely fashion
or at
all, or that we will complete these clinical trials.
We
filed
an NDA with the FDA for treatment of CFS on October 10, 2007. On December 5,
2007 we received an RTF letter from the FDA as our NDA filing was deemed “not
substantially complete”. We responded to the FDA’s concerns by filing amendments
to our NDA on April 25, 2008. These amendments should allow the FDA reviewers
to
better evaluate independently the statistical efficacy/safety conclusions of
our
NDA for the use of Ampligen®
in
treating CFS. On July 7, 2008 the FDA accepted our NDA filing for review.
However, there are no assurances that upon review of the NDA that it will be
approved by the FDA.
If
Ampligen® or one of our other products does not receive regulatory approval in
the U.S. or elsewhere, our operations most likely will be materially adversely
affected.
Although
preliminary in vitro testing indicates that Ampligen® enhances the effectiveness
of different drug combinations on avian influenza, preliminary testing in the
laboratory is not necessarily predictive of successful results in clinical
testing or human treatment.
Ampligen®
is undergoing pre-clinical testing for possible treatment of avian flu. Although
preliminary in vitro testing indicates that Ampligen® enhances the effectiveness
of different drug combinations on avian flu, preliminary testing in the
laboratory is not necessarily predictive of successful results in clinical
testing or human treatment. No assurance can be given that similar results
will
be observed in clinical trials. Use of Ampligen® in the treatment of avian flu
requires prior regulatory approval. Only the FDA can determine whether a drug
is
safe, effective or promising for treating a specific application. As discussed
in the prior risk factor, obtaining regulatory approvals is a rigorous and
lengthy process.
28
In
addition, Ampligen® is being tested on two strains of avian influenza virus.
There are a number of strains and strains mutate. No assurance can be given
that
Ampligen® will be effective on any strains that might infect
humans.
We
may continue to incur substantial losses and our future profitability is
uncertain.
We
began
operations in 1966 and last reported net profit from 1985 through 1987. Since
1987, we have incurred substantial operating losses, as we pursued our clinical
trial effort to get our experimental drug, Ampligen®, approved. As of September
30, 2008, our accumulated deficit was approximately $194,572,000. We have not
yet generated significant revenues from our products and may incur substantial
and increased losses in the future. We cannot assure that we will ever achieve
significant revenues from product sales or become profitable. We require, and
will continue to require, the commitment of substantial resources to develop
our
products. We cannot assure that our product development efforts will be
successfully completed or that required regulatory approvals will be obtained
or
that any products will be manufactured and marketed successfully, or be
profitable.
Our
Alferon N Injection Commercial Sales have halted due to lack of finished goods
inventory.
Our
finished goods inventory of Alferon N Injection®
reached
it’s current expiration date in March 2008. As a result, we have no product to
sell at this time. The FDA has declined to respond to our requests for an
extension of the expiration date, therefore we consider the request to be
denied. Since our testing of the product indicates that it is not impaired
and
could be safely utilized, the finished goods inventory of 2,745 Alferon N
Injection® 5ml vials may be used to produce approximately 11,000,000 sachets of
Low Dose Oral Alferon (LDO) for future clinical trials.
Production
of Alferon N injection® from our work-in-progress inventory, which has an
approximate expiration date of 2012, has been put on hold at this time due
to
the resources needed to prepare our New Brunswick facility for the FDA
preapproval inspection with respect to our Ampligen® NDA. Work on the Alferon N
Injection® is expected to resume in mid-2009 under the condition that adequate
funding is obtained, which means that we may not have any Alferon N Injection®
product commercially available until 2010.
In
2007,
we averaged Alferon N Injection® sales of approximately $77,000 per month. With
no FDA approval to extend the expiration date of our finished good inventory,
we
will not receive these monthly revenues. In addition, if there is a significant
absence of the product from the market place, no assurance can be given that
sales will return to prior levels.
We
may require additional financing which may not be
available.
The
development of our products will require the commitment of substantial resources
to conduct the time-consuming research, preclinical development, and clinical
trials that are necessary to bring pharmaceutical products to market. As of
September 30, 2008, we had approximately $7,592,000 in cash and cash equivalents
and short-term investments. \We anticipate based on our estimate, but cannot
assure, that these funds will be sufficient to meet our operating cash
requirements for the next 10 months.
29
We
hope,
but cannot assure, that we will be able to raise additional capital from the
sale of shares under the Purchase Agreement. However, our ability to raise
funds
from sales under the Purchase Agreement is hampered by current adverse market
conditions and our reduced stock price that has, for the most part, been under
the $0.40 minimum share price required by the Purchase Agreement. In addition,
shares sold pursuant to the Purchase Agreement cannot exceed 19,99% of our
shares outstanding as of July 2, 2008 without stockholder approval, which we
are
seeking to obtain at our November 11, 2008 Stockholder Meeting.
Assuming
no material financing from the sale of securities to Fusion Capital and if
we
are unable to commercialize and sell Ampligen® and/or increase sales of Alferon
N Injection® or our other products, we will need to secure other sources of
funding through additional equity or debt financing or from other sources in
order to satisfy our working capital needs and to complete the necessary
clinical trials and the regulatory approval processes including the
commercializing of Ampligen® products. In this regard we previously registered
$50,000,000 worth of our securities in a universal shelf registration statement,
none of which has been designated or issued. We are unable to estimate the
amount, timing or nature of future sales of outstanding common stock or
instruments convertible into or exercisable for our common stock. There can
be
no assurances that we will raise adequate funds which may have a material
adverse effect on our ability to develop our products.
We
may not be profitable unless we can protect our patents and/or receive approval
for additional pending patents.
We
need
to preserve and acquire enforceable patents covering the use of Ampligen® for a
particular disease in order to obtain exclusive rights for the commercial sale
of Ampligen® for such disease. We obtained all rights to Alferon N Injection®,
and we plan to preserve and acquire enforceable patents covering its use for
existing and potentially new diseases. Our success depends, in large part,
on
our ability to preserve and obtain patent protection for our products and to
obtain and preserve our trade secrets and expertise. Certain of our know-how
and
technology is not patentable, particularly the procedures for the manufacture
of
our experimental drug, Ampligen®, which is carried out according to standard
operating procedure manuals. We have been issued certain patents including
those
on the use of Ampligen® in combination with certain other drugs for the
treatment of HIV. We also have been issued patents on the use of Ampligen® in
combination with certain other drugs for the treatment of chronic Hepatitis
B
virus, chronic Hepatitis C virus, and a patent which affords protection on
the
use of Ampligen® in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. We have not yet been
issued any patents in the United States for the use of AmpligenÒ
as a
sole treatment for any of the cancers, which we have sought to target. With
regard to Alferon N Injection®, we have acquired from ISI its patents for
natural alpha interferon produced from human peripheral blood leukocytes and
its
production process and we have filed a patent application for the use of Alferon
LDO in treating viral diseases including avian influenza. We cannot assure
that
our competitors will not seek and obtain patents regarding the use of similar
products in combination with various other agents, for a particular target
indication prior to our doing such. If we cannot protect our patents covering
the use of our products for a particular disease, or obtain additional patents,
we may not be able to successfully market our products.
30
The
patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms is highly uncertain
and involves complex legal and factual questions.
To
date,
no consistent policy has emerged regarding the breadth of protection afforded
by
pharmaceutical and biotechnology patents. There can be no assurance that new
patent applications relating to our products or technology will result in
patents being issued or that, if issued, such patents will afford meaningful
protection against competitors with similar technology. It is generally
anticipated that there may be significant litigation in the industry regarding
patent and intellectual property rights. Such litigation could require
substantial resources from us and we may not have the financial resources
necessary to enforce the patent rights that we hold. No assurance can be made
that our patents will provide competitive advantages for our products or will
not be successfully challenged by competitors. No assurance can be given that
patents do not exist or could not be filed which would have a materially adverse
effect on our ability to develop or market our products or to obtain or maintain
any competitive position that we may achieve with respect to our products.
Our
patents also may not prevent others from developing competitive products using
related technology.
There
can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain necessary licenses if we
cannot enforce patent rights we may hold. In addition, the failure of third
parties from whom we currently license certain proprietary information or from
whom we may be required to obtain such licenses in the future, to adequately
enforce their rights to such proprietary information, could adversely affect
the
value of such licenses to us.
If
we
cannot enforce the patent rights we currently hold we may be required to obtain
licenses from others to develop, manufacture or market our products. There
can
be no assurance that we would be able to obtain any such licenses on
commercially reasonable terms, if at all. We currently license certain
proprietary information from third parties, some of which may have been
developed with government grants under circumstances where the government
maintained certain rights with respect to the proprietary information developed.
No assurances can be given that such third parties will adequately enforce
any
rights they may have or that the rights, if any, retained by the government
will
not adversely affect the value of our license.
There
is no guarantee that our trade secrets will not be disclosed or known by our
competitors.
To
protect our rights, we require certain employees and consultants to enter into
confidentiality agreements with us. There can be no assurance that these
agreements will not be breached, that we would have adequate and enforceable
remedies for any breach, or that any trade secrets of ours will not otherwise
become known or be independently developed by competitors.
We
have limited marketing and sales capability. If we are unable to obtain
additional distributors and our current and future distributors do not market
our products successfully, we may not generate significant revenues or become
profitable.
We
have
limited marketing and sales capability. We are dependent upon existing and,
possibly future, marketing agreements and third party distribution agreements
for our products in order to generate significant revenues and become
profitable. As a result, any revenues received by us will be dependent in large
part on the efforts of third parties, and there is no assurance that these
efforts will be successful.
31
Our
commercialization strategy for Ampligen-CFS includes licensing/co-marketing
agreements utilizing the resources and capacities of a strategic partner(s).
We
are currently seeking worldwide marketing partner(s), with the goal of having
a
relationship in place before approval is obtained. In parallel to partnering
discussions, appropriate pre-marketing activities will be undertaken. We intend
to control manufacturing of Ampligen®
on a
worldwide basis.
We
cannot
assure that our U.S. or foreign marketing strategy will be successful or that
we
will be able to establish future marketing or third party distribution
agreements on terms acceptable to us, or that the cost of establishing these
arrangements will not exceed any product revenues. Our inability to establish
viable marketing and sales capabilities would most likely have a materially
adverse effect on us.
There
are no long-term agreements with suppliers of required materials. If we are
unable to obtain the required raw materials, we may be required to scale back
our operations or stop manufacturing Alferon N Injection® and/or
Ampligen®.
A
number
of essential materials are used in the production of Alferon N Injection®,
including human white blood cells. We do not have long-term agreements for
the
supply of any of such materials. There can be no assurance we can enter into
long-term supply agreements covering essential materials on commercially
reasonable terms, if at all.
There
are
a limited number of manufacturers in the United States available to provide
the
polymers for use in manufacturing Ampligen®. At present, we do not have any
agreements with third parties for the supply of any of these polymers. We have
established relevant manufacturing operations within our New Brunswick, New
Jersey facility for the production of Ampligen® polymers from raw materials in
order to obtain polymers on a more consistent manufacturing basis.
If
we are
unable to obtain or manufacture the required polymers, we may be required to
scale back our operations or stop manufacturing. The costs and availability
of
products and materials we need for the production of Ampligen® and the
commercial production of Alferon N Injection® and other products which we may
commercially produce are subject to fluctuation depending on a variety of
factors beyond our control, including competitive factors, changes in
technology, and FDA and other governmental regulations and there can be no
assurance that we will be able to obtain such products and materials on terms
acceptable to us or at all.
There
is no assurance that successful manufacture of a drug on a limited scale basis
for investigational use will lead to a successful transition to commercial,
large-scale production.
Small
changes in methods of manufacturing, including commercial scale-up, may affect
the chemical structure of Ampligen® and other RNA drugs, as well as their safety
and efficacy, and can, among other things, require new clinical studies and
affect orphan drug status, particularly, market exclusivity rights, if any,
under the Orphan Drug Act. The transition from limited production of
pre-clinical and clinical research quantities to production of commercial
quantities of our products will involve distinct management and technical
challenges and will require additional management and technical personnel and
capital to the extent such manufacturing is not handled by third parties. There
can be no assurance that our manufacturing will be successful or that any given
product will be determined to be safe and effective, capable of being
manufactured economically in commercial quantities or successfully
marketed.
32
We
have limited manufacturing experience and capacity.
Ampligen®
has been only produced in limited quantities for use in our clinical trials
and
we are dependent upon a third party supplier for substantially all of the
production process. The failure to continue these arrangements or to achieve
other such arrangements on satisfactory terms could have a material adverse
affect on us. Also, to be successful, our products must be manufactured in
commercial quantities in compliance with regulatory requirements and at
acceptable costs. To the extent we are involved in the production process,
our
current facilities are not adequate for the production of our proposed products
for large-scale commercialization, and we currently do not have adequate
personnel to conduct commercial-scale manufacturing. We intend to utilize
third-party facilities if and when the need arises or, if we are unable to
do
so, to build or acquire commercial-scale manufacturing facilities. We will
need
to comply with regulatory requirements for such facilities, including those
of
the FDA pertaining to current Good Manufacturing Practices (“cGMP”) regulations.
There can be no assurance that such facilities can be used, built, or acquired
on commercially acceptable terms, or that such facilities, if used, built,
or
acquired, will be adequate for our long-term needs. Please refer to Risk Factor
“Our Alferon N Injection®
sales
have been halted due to lack of finished goods inventory”.
We
may not be profitable unless we can produce Ampligen® or other products in
commercial quantities at costs acceptable to us.
We
have
never produced Ampligen® or any other products in large commercial quantities.
We must manufacture our products in compliance with regulatory requirements
in
large commercial quantities and at acceptable costs in order for us to be
profitable. We intend to utilize third-party manufacturers and/or facilities
if
and when the need arises or, if we are unable to do so, to build or acquire
commercial-scale manufacturing facilities. If we cannot manufacture commercial
quantities of Ampligen® or enter into third party agreements for its manufacture
at costs acceptable to us, our operations will be significantly affected. Also,
each production lot of Alferon N Injection® is subject to FDA review and
approval prior to releasing the lots to be sold. This review and approval
process could take considerable time, which would delay our having product
in
inventory to sell.
Rapid
technological change may render our products obsolete or
non-competitive.
The
pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are subject to rapid and substantial
technological change. Technological competition from pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies, universities, governmental entities and others
diversifying into the field is intense and is expected to increase. Most of
these entities have significantly greater research and development capabilities
than us, as well as substantial marketing, financial and managerial resources,
and represent significant competition for us. There can be no assurance that
developments by others will not render our products or technologies obsolete
or
noncompetitive or that we will be able to keep pace with technological
developments.
33
Our
products may be subject to substantial competition.
Ampligen®.
Competitors may be developing technologies that are, or in the future may be,
the basis for competitive products. Some of these potential products may have
an
entirely different approach or means of accomplishing similar therapeutic
effects to products being developed by us. These competing products may be
more
effective and less costly than our products. In addition, conventional drug
therapy, surgery and other more familiar treatments may offer competition to
our
products. Furthermore, many of our competitors have significantly greater
experience than us in pre-clinical testing and human clinical trials of
pharmaceutical products and in obtaining FDA, HPB and other regulatory approvals
of products. Accordingly, our competitors may succeed in obtaining FDA, HPB
or
other regulatory product approvals more rapidly than us. There are no drugs
approved for commercial sale with respect to treating CFS in the United States.
The dominant competitors with drugs to treat disease indications in which we
plan to address include Gilead Pharmaceutical, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers, Abbott
Labs, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Schering-Plough Corp. These potential
competitors are among the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, are
well known to the public and the medical community, and have substantially
greater financial resources, product development, and manufacturing and
marketing capabilities than we have. Although we believe our principal advantage
is the unique mechanism of action of Ampligen® on the immune system, we cannot
assure that we will be able to compete.
ALFERON
N
Injection®. Our competitors are among the largest pharmaceutical companies in
the world, are well known to the public and the medical community, and have
substantially greater financial resources, product development, and
manufacturing and marketing capabilities than we have. Alferon N Injection®
currently competes with Schering’s injectable recombinant alpha interferon
product (INTRON® A) for the treatment of genital warts. 3M Pharmaceuticals also
offer competition from its immune-response modifier, Aldara®, a
self-administered topical cream, for the treatment of external genital and
perianal warts. In addition, Medigene recently received FDA approval for a
self-administered ointment, VeregenTM, which is indicated for the topical
treatment of external genital and perianal warts. Alferon N Injection® also
competes with surgical, chemical, and other methods of treating genital warts.
We cannot assess the impact products developed by our competitors, or advances
in other methods of the treatment of genital warts, will have on the commercial
viability of Alferon N Injection®. If and when we obtain additional approvals of
uses of this product, we expect to compete primarily on the basis of product
performance. Our competitors have developed or may develop products (containing
either alpha or beta interferon or other therapeutic compounds) or other
treatment modalities for those uses. There can be no assurance that, if we
are
able to obtain regulatory approval of Alferon N Injection® for the treatment of
new indications, we will be able to achieve any significant penetration into
those markets. In addition, because certain competitive products are not
dependent on a source of human blood cells, such products may be able to be
produced in greater volume and at a lower cost than Alferon N Injection®.
Currently, our wholesale price on a per unit basis of Alferon N Injection® is
higher than that of the competitive recombinant alpha and beta interferon
products.
General.
Other companies may succeed in developing products earlier than we do, obtaining
approvals for such products from the FDA more rapidly than we do, or developing
products that are more effective than those we may develop. While we will
attempt to expand our technological capabilities in order to remain competitive,
there can be no assurance that research and development by others or other
medical advances will not render our technology or products obsolete or
non-competitive or result in treatments or cures superior to any therapy we
develop.
34
Possible
side effects from the use of Ampligen® or Alferon N Injection® could adversely
affect potential revenues and physician/patient acceptability of our
product.
Ampligen®.
We believe that Ampligen® has been generally well tolerated with a low incidence
of clinical toxicity, particularly given the severely debilitating or life
threatening diseases that have been treated. A mild flushing reaction has been
observed in approximately 15% of patients treated in our various studies. This
reaction is occasionally accompanied by a rapid heart beat, a tightness of
the
chest, urticaria (swelling of the skin), anxiety, shortness of breath,
subjective reports of ''feeling hot'', sweating and nausea. The reaction is
usually infusion-rate related and can generally be controlled by reducing the
rate of infusion. Other adverse side effects include liver enzyme level
elevations, diarrhea, itching, asthma, low blood pressure, photophobia, rash,
transient visual disturbances, slow or irregular heart rate, decreases in
platelets and white blood cell counts, anemia, dizziness, confusion, elevation
of kidney function tests, occasional temporary hair loss and various flu-like
symptoms, including fever, chills, fatigue, muscular aches, joint pains,
headaches, nausea and vomiting. These flu-like side effects typically subside
within several months. One or more of the potential side effects might deter
usage of Ampligen® in certain clinical situations and therefore, could adversely
affect potential revenues and physician/patient acceptability of our product.
Alferon
N
Injection®. At present, Alferon N Injection® is only approved for the
intra-lesional (within the lesion) treatment of refractory or recurring external
genital warts in adults. In clinical trials conducted for the treatment of
genital warts with Alferon N Injection®, patients did not experience serious
side effects; however, there can be no assurance that unexpected or unacceptable
side effects will not be found in the future for this use or other potential
uses of Alferon N Injection® which could threaten or limit such product’s
usefulness.
We
may be subject to product liability claims from the use of Ampligen®, Alferon N
Injection®, or other of our products which could negatively affect our future
operations.
We
face
an inherent business risk of exposure to product liability claims in the event
that the use of Ampligen® or other of our products results in adverse effects.
This liability might result from claims made directly by patients, hospitals,
clinics or other consumers, or by pharmaceutical companies or others
manufacturing these products on our behalf. Our future operations may be
negatively affected from the litigation costs, settlement expenses and lost
product sales inherent to these claims. While we will continue to attempt to
take appropriate precautions, we cannot assure that we will avoid significant
product liability exposure. Although we currently maintain product liability
insurance coverage, there can be no assurance that this insurance will provide
adequate coverage against Ampligen® and/or Alferon N Injection® product
liability claims. A successful product liability claim against us in excess
of
Ampligen’s® $1,000,000 in insurance coverage; $3,000,000 in aggregate, or in
excess of Alferon N Injection’s® $5,000,000 in insurance coverage; $5,000,000 in
aggregate; or for which coverage is not provided could have a negative effect
on
our business and financial condition.
35
The
loss of services of key personnel including Dr. William A. Carter could hurt
our
chances for success.
Our
success is dependent on the continued efforts of Dr. William A. Carter because
of his position as a pioneer in the field of nucleic acid drugs, his being
the
co-inventor of Ampligen®, and his knowledge of our overall activities, including
patents and clinical trials. The loss of Dr. Carter’s services could have a
material adverse effect on our operations and chances for success. We have
secured key man life insurance in the amount of $2,000,000 on the life of Dr.
Carter and we have an employment agreement with Dr. Carter that, as amended,
runs until December 31, 2010. However, Dr. Carter has the right to terminate
his
employment upon not less than 30 days prior written notice. The loss of Dr.
Carter or other personnel or the failure to recruit additional personnel as
needed could have a materially adverse effect on our ability to achieve our
objectives.
Uncertainty
of health care reimbursement for our products.
Our
ability to successfully commercialize our products will depend, in part, on
the
extent to which reimbursement for the cost of such products and related
treatment will be available from government health administration authorities,
private health coverage insurers and other organizations. Significant
uncertainty exists as to the reimbursement status of newly approved health
care
products, and from time to time legislation is proposed, which, if adopted,
could further restrict the prices charged by and/or amounts reimbursable to
manufacturers of pharmaceutical products. We cannot predict what, if any,
legislation will ultimately be adopted or the impact of such legislation on
us.
There can be no assurance that third party insurance companies will allow us
to
charge and receive payments for products sufficient to realize an appropriate
return on our investment in product development.
There
are risks of liabilities associated with handling and disposing of hazardous
materials.
Our
business involves the controlled use of hazardous materials, carcinogenic
chemicals, flammable solvents and various radioactive compounds. Although we
believe that our safety procedures for handling and disposing of such materials
comply in all material respects with the standards prescribed by applicable
regulations, the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials
cannot be completely eliminated. In the event of such an accident or the failure
to comply with applicable regulations, we could be held liable for any damages
that result, and any such liability could be significant. We do not maintain
insurance coverage against such liabilities.
Risks
Associated With an Investment in Our Common Stock
The
market price of our stock may be adversely affected by market
volatility.
The
market price of our common stock has been and is likely to be volatile. This
is
especially true given the current significant instability in the financial
markets. In addition to general economic, political and market conditions,
the
price and trading volume of our stock could fluctuate widely in response to
many
factors, including:
·
|
announcements
of the results of clinical trials by us or our
competitors;
|
·
|
adverse
reactions to
products;
|
·
|
governmental
approvals, delays in expected governmental approvals or withdrawals
of any
prior governmental approvals or public or regulatory agency concerns
regarding the safety or effectiveness of our
products;
|
·
|
changes
in U.S. or foreign regulatory policy during the period of product
development;
|
36
·
|
developments
in patent or other proprietary rights, including any third party
challenges of our intellectual property
rights;
|
·
|
announcements
of technological innovations by us or our
competitors;
|
·
|
announcements
of new products or new contracts by us or our
competitors;
|
·
|
actual
or anticipated variations in our operating results due to the level
of
development expenses and other
factors;
|
·
|
changes
in financial estimates by securities analysts and whether our earnings
meet or exceed the estimates;
|
·
|
conditions
and trends in the pharmaceutical and other
industries;
|
·
|
new
accounting standards;
|
·
|
overall
investment market fluctuation; and
|
·
|
occurrence
of any of the risks described in these "Risk
Factors."
|
Our
common stock is listed for quotation on the NYSE Alternext US (formerly, the
American Stock Exchange). For the 12-month period ended September 30, 2008,
the
closing price of our common stock has ranged from $0.33 to $2.00 per share.
We
expect the price of our common stock to remain volatile. The average daily
trading volume of our common stock varies significantly. Our relatively low
average volume and low average number of transactions per day may affect the
ability of our stockholders to sell their shares in the public market at
prevailing prices and a more active market may never develop.
In
the
past, following periods of volatility in the market price of the securities
of
companies in our industry, securities class action litigation has often been
instituted against companies in our industry. If we face securities litigation
in the future, even if without merit or unsuccessful, it would result in
substantial costs and a diversion of management attention and resources, which
would negatively impact our business.
The
sale of our common stock to Fusion Capital may cause dilution and the sale
of
the shares of common stock acquired by Fusion Capital could cause the price
of
our common stock to decline.
In
connection with entering into the Purchase Agreement with Fusion Capital in
August 2008, we registered 21,300,000 shares in the aggregate, consisting of
20,000,000 shares which we may sell to Fusion Capital and 1,300,000 shares
we
have issued or may issue to Fusion Capital as Commitment Shares. The number
of
shares ultimately offered for sale by Fusion Capital is dependent upon the
number of shares purchased by Fusion Capital under the agreement. The purchase
price for the common stock to be sold to Fusion Capital pursuant to the Purchase
Agreement will fluctuate based on the price of our common stock. Under
the
rules of the NYSE
Alternext US (formerly, the American
Stock Exchange), we may issue more than 14,823,651 shares (19.99% of our
outstanding shares as of July 2, 2008, the date of the purchase agreement)
without first obtaining the approval of stockholders. We are currently seeking
stockholder approval to issue the additional 6,476,349 shares.
It is
anticipated that shares registered will be sold over a period of up to 25 months
after the registration statement is declared effective. Depending upon market
liquidity at the time, a sale of shares by Fusion Capital at any given time
could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline. Fusion Capital
may
ultimately purchase all, some or none of the 20,000,000 shares of common stock
to be registered but not yet issued. After it has acquired such shares, it
may
sell all, some or none of such shares. Therefore, sales to Fusion Capital by
us
under the Purchase Agreement may result in substantial dilution to the interests
of other holders of our common stock. The sale of a substantial number of shares
of our common stock By Fusion Capital, or anticipation of such sales, could
make
it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the
future at a time and at a price that we might otherwise wish to effect sales.
However, we have the right to control the timing and amount of any sales of
our
shares to Fusion Capital and the agreement may be terminated by us at any time
at our discretion without any cost to us.
37
In
addition to the 21,300,000 shares registered for Fusion Capital, we have
previously registered 135% of 3,615,514 shares issuable upon exercise of
Warrants related to our former convertible debentures and 14,442,294 shares
issuable upon exercise of certain other warrants. To the extent the exercise
price of the warrants is less than the market price of the common stock, the
holders of the warrants are likely to exercise them and sell the underlying
shares of common stock and to the extent that the conversion price and exercise
price of these securities are adjusted pursuant to anti-dilution protection,
the
securities could be exercisable or convertible for even more shares of common
stock. We also may issue shares to be used to meet our capital requirements
or
use shares to compensate employees, consultants and/or directors. In this regard
we previously registered $50,000,000 worth of our securities in a universal
shelf registration statement, none of which has been designated or issued.
We
are unable to estimate the amount, timing or nature of future sales of
outstanding common stock or instruments convertible into or exercisable for
our
common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public
market could cause the market price for our common stock to decrease.
Furthermore, a decline in the price of our common stock would likely impede
our
ability to raise capital through the issuance of additional shares of common
stock or other equity securities.
Provisions
of our Certificate of Incorporation and Delaware law could defer a change of
our
management which could discourage or delay offers to acquire
us.
Provisions
of our Certificate of Incorporation and Delaware law may make it more difficult
for someone to acquire control of us or for our stockholders to remove existing
management, and might discourage a third party from offering to acquire us,
even
if a change in control or in management would be beneficial to our stockholders.
For example, our Certificate of Incorporation allows us to issue shares of
preferred stock without any vote or further action by our stockholders. Our
Board of Directors has the authority to fix and determine the relative rights
and preferences of preferred stock. Our Board of Directors also has the
authority to issue preferred stock without further stockholder approval. As
a
result, our Board of Directors could authorize the issuance of a series of
preferred stock that would grant to holders the preferred right to our assets
upon liquidation, the right to receive dividend payments before dividends are
distributed to the holders of common stock and the right to the redemption
of
the shares, together with a premium, prior to the redemption of our common
stock. In this regard, in November 2002, we adopted a stockholder rights plan
and, under the Plan, our Board of Directors declared a dividend distribution
of
one Right for each outstanding share of Common Stock to stockholders of record
at the close of business on November 29, 2002. Each Right initially entitles
holders to buy one unit of preferred stock for $30.00. The Rights generally
are
not transferable apart from the common stock and will not be exercisable unless
and until a person or group acquires or commences a tender or exchange offer
to
acquire, beneficial ownership of 15% or more of our common stock. However,
for
Dr. Carter, our Chief Executive Officer, who already beneficially owns 7.7%
of
our common stock, the Plan’s threshold will be 20%, instead of 15%. The Rights
will expire on November 19, 2012, and may be redeemed prior thereto at $.01
per
Right under certain circumstances.
38
Because
the risk factors referred to above could cause actual results or outcomes to
differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made
by
us, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements.
Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which
it is
made and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement
or
statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such
statement is made or reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors
emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict which will
arise. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business
or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking
statements. Our research in clinical efforts may continue for the next several
years and we may continue to incur losses due to clinical costs incurred in
the
development of Ampligen® for commercial application. Possible losses may
fluctuate from quarter to quarter as a result of differences in the timing
of
significant expenses incurred and receipt of licensing fees and/or cost recovery
treatment revenue.
ITEM
2: Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of
Proceeds
During
the quarter ended September
30, 2008,
we
issued an aggregate of 363,951 shares for services performed.
All
of
the foregoing transactions
were conducted pursuant
to the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(2) of the Securities
Act of 1933.
We
did
not repurchase any of our securities during the quarter ended September
30, 2008.
ITEM
3: Defaults upon Senior Securities
None.
ITEM
4: Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
As
a
result of not attaining the required quorum of stockholders eligible to vote
at
our Annual Meeting of Stockholders initially held on September 17, 2008, and
at
the initial adjournment of that meeting on October 17, 2008, the meeting has
been adjourned to November 11, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Philadelphia.
Stockholders’ will be voting on various matters at this meeting. At the October
17, 2008 meeting, shares representing approximately 48.5% of eligible votes
were
present, however a quorum required in excess of 50%. A significant number of
stockholders are domiciled in Europe and less readily accessible for
notification purposes. To assure that the meeting can be held, our Board of
Directors has amended our By-Laws to reduce the quorum for the meeting from
a
majority to 44% in voting power of the outstanding shares of stock entitled
to
vote at the meeting. The reduced quorum relates solely to the 2008 Annual
Stockholders' Meeting of November 11, 2008. The Company will continue to solicit
proxies in an attempt to receive votes from a majority of the shares eligible
to
vote at the meeting.
39
ITEM
5: Other Information
None.
ITEM
6: Exhibits
(a)
Exhibits
|
31.1
|
Certification
pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 from the
Company's Chief Executive Officer
|
31.2
|
Certification
pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 from the
Company's Chief Financial Officer
|
32.1
|
Certification
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 from the
Company's Chief Executive Officer
|
32.2
|
Certification
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 from the
Company's Chief Financial
Officer
|
40
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned
thereunto duly authorized.
HEMISPHERx
BIOPHARMA, INC.
|
/S/
William A. Carter
|
William
A. Carter, M.D.
|
Chief
Executive Officer & President
|
/S/
Robert E. Peterson
|
Robert
E. Peterson
|
Chief
Financial Officer
|
Date:
November 10, 2008
41