|
Quotes & Info
|
| IRBS.OB > SEC Filings for IRBS.OB > Form 10-Q on 15-May-2009 | All Recent SEC Filings |
15-May-2009
Quarterly Report
Special Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements
Some of the statements under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q constitute forward-looking statements. All statements other than historical facts contained in this report, including statements regarding our future financial position and revenues, capital expenditures, cash flows, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things, those described under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in the "Risk Factors" section of our annual report on SEC Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2009 and as amended on April 30, 2009.
In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. Moreover, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of such statements. We are under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this report.
The following information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto. The analysis set forth below is provided pursuant to applicable Securities and Exchange Commission regulations and is not intended to serve as a basis for projections of future events.
Overview
IR BioSciences Holdings, Inc. is a development-stage biotechnology company. Through our wholly-owned subsidiary ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc., we are engaged in the research and development of potential drug candidates, Homspera® and its derivatives, Radilex® and Viprovex®. Although containing the identical active ingredient Homspera, we defined Radilex and Viprovex as derivatives of Homspera due to the potential difference in formulations and indications for use. Our goals include developing these potential drug candidates to be used as possible countermeasures for homeland security threats, including radiological, chemical and biological agents, and to meet the commercial need for similar beneficial effects in conditions such as radiation therapy, influenza, anthrax and potentially other microbial ailments. We have discovered activities of Homspera that may potentially open additional commercialization opportunities in areas such as human adult stem cell stimulation, vaccine adjuvants, which stimulate the immune system above that of a stand-alone vaccine, and wound healing.
Our patents, patent applications and continued research are partially derived from discoveries made during research studies related to the function of Substance P, which is found in the body and has a large number of actions. These studies were funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) in the early 1990s and were conducted by research scientists, including our co-founders Drs. Mark Witten and David Harris. In the course of research on Substance P, scientists created a number of synthetic analogues, structural derivatives with slight chemical differences, for study. One of these, which we have named Homspera, is the basis for our drug development efforts and our intellectual property. All of our research and development efforts are at the pre-clinical stage and Homspera has only undergone exploratory studies to evaluate its biological activity in small animals. There can be no assurance that our interpretation of study results will prove to be accurate after further testing, and our beliefs regarding the potential uses of our drug candidates may never materialize.
Our current focus is to develop Homspera for regenerating or strengthening the human immune system, in part, through stimulating human adult stem cells. It is the belief of our management that the stem cell activity exhibited by Homspera underlies some of the effects previously reported in potential applications like treatment for radiation exposure and infectious diseases using Homspera derivatives Radilex and Viprovex, respectively, which are described below. Recent studies have evaluated the effects of Homspera on human adult stem cell activity. Additionally, ongoing studies are being performed to evaluate the efficacy of Homspera as a potential product to increase the healing rate of wounds. One aspect of this evaluation is to consider the impact of Homspera on the mechanisms and pathology of fibrosis, which is associated with scar formation, pulmonary injury and can occur following exposure to ionizing radiation (gamma rays or x-rays).
We are researching Radilex for use as a potential treatment for acute exposure to radiation. We believe that a commercial market may exist for the use of Radilex as it relates to the amelioration of certain side effects of cancer treatments, whether chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Further, we believe that Radilex, if developed, may be an acceptable candidate to be marketed to governmental agencies for procurement into the Strategic National Stockpile for potential use following radiological or nuclear threats.
We are researching Viprovex for potential use in treatments of exposure to biological agents, such as infectious diseases, which include influenza and anthrax. We believe that potential commercial opportunities may exist for the treatment of seasonal influenza and other viral or bacterial infections, either as a stand-alone drug or as an adjuvant to other existing drugs. We believe that Viprovex, if adequately developed, may be used in potential applications for sale to governments for the treatment of exposure to anthrax and pandemic influenza. In addition, ongoing studies are being performed to evaluate the efficacy of Viprovex as a vaccine adjuvant to enhance immune response to a given dose of vaccine for either prophylactic protection, such as influenza, or therapy, such as cancer. Based on early studies on Homspera and existing literature on Substance P, we are also researching the efficacy of Viprovex as a potential treatment for exposure to chemical agents, such as formalin.
To date we have submitted preliminary study data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and have been issued two Pre-Investigational New Drug (PIND) numbers, one for the potential use of Radilex in the treatment of acute radiation syndrome (PIND 63,255) and the other for the potential use of Viprovex in the treatment of avian influenza (PIND 73,709). We have evaluated and/or contracted with a number of FDA regulatory consultants to assist us in our preparation and submission of an Investigational New Drug application (IND), a necessary prerequisite to human clinical studies, which can only follow after the FDA's allowance of our IND.
We have filed patent applications directed to various methods of using and compositions comprising Substance P analogues. We presently own approximately eight issued patents, including two issued U.S. patents and six issued foreign patents, one of which has been registered in nine countries in the European Union. We also have approximately 64 pending patent applications, including approximately 17 pending U.S. utility patent applications, 1 pending U.S. provisional application, 6 pending international patent applications, and approximately 40 pending foreign patent applications. All inventions embodied in these applications and issued patents have been assigned to the company by the inventors.
Our potential drug candidates, Homspera, Radilex and Viprovex, are at pre-clinical stages of development and may not be shown to be safe or effective in humans and may never receive regulatory approval. Neither Homspera, Radilex nor Viprovex have been tested in humans. There is no guarantee that regulatory authorities will ever permit human testing of Homspera, Radilex, Viprovex or any other potential products derived from Homspera. Even if such testing is permitted, neither Homspera, Radilex, Viprovex or any other potential drug candidates, if any, derived from Homspera may be successfully developed or shown to be safe or effective in humans.
The results of our pre-clinical studies and clinical trials may not be indicative of future clinical trial results. A commitment of substantial resources to conduct time-consuming research, pre-clinical studies and clinical trials will be required if we are to develop any commercial applications using Homspera or any derivatives thereof. It is possible that partnerships and/or licensing agreements will not develop during the preclinical and/or clinical stages of development, if at all. Delays in planned patient enrollment in our future clinical trials may result in increased costs, program delays or both. None of our potential technologies may prove to be safe or effective in clinical trials. Approval of the FDA, or other regulatory approvals, including export license permissions, may not be obtained and even if successfully developed and approved, our potential applications may not achieve market acceptance. Any potential applications resulting from our programs may not be successfully developed or commercially available for a number of years, if at all.
To date, we have not obtained regulatory approval for, or commercialized any applications, using Homspera or any of its derivatives. We have incurred significant losses since our inception and we expect to incur annual losses for at least the next three years as we continue with our drug research and development efforts.3
Results of Operations for the Three Month Periods Ended March 31, 2009 and March 31, 2008
Revenue
We have not generated any revenues from operations from our inception. We believe we will begin earning revenues from operations during calendar year 2010 as we transition from a development stage company.
Cost and Expenses
From our inception through March 31, 2009, we have incurred losses of $23,438,203. These expenses were associated principally with equity-based compensation to employees and consultants, product development costs and professional services and interest expense.
For the three months ending March 31, 2009, Sales, General and Administrative expenses ("SG&A") were $844,910, a decrease of $331,997 or approximately 28% compared to SG&A expenses of $1,176,907 during the three months ended March 31, 2008. The year over year decrease was primarily due to a decrease in non-cash compensation, lower payroll expenses, lower legal and accounting costs, and lower research and development costs. For the three months ended March 31, 2009, this amount consisted primarily of payroll and related expenses of $285,404, research and development costs of $184,401, legal and accounting costs of $158,079, consulting and professional fees of $50,654 and insurance costs of $39,288. We expect SG&A to remain flat during the coming twelve months.
Financing Cost
Financing costs were $31,250 for the three months ended March 31, 2009, a 100% increase compared to financing costs of $0 during the three months ended March 31, 2008. The Company deposited cash in the amount of $250,000 held in escrow pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreements with YA Global Investments, L.P. that were entered into in January 2008 and June 2008, of which $175,000 was placed into escrow on January 3, 2008 and an additional $75,000 was placed into escrow on June 12, 2008. These funds are amortized on a straight-line basis over a 24 month period. Prior to December 31, 2008, these costs were captured in SG&A expenses.
The Company expects no significant increase to financing costs during the coming twelve months.
Interest Expense (net)
For the three months ending March 31, 2009, interest expense (net) was $532,592; an increase of $486,265 or approximately 1050% compared to interest expense of $46,327 for the three months ended March 31, 2008. Interest expense increased during the three months ended March 31, 2009 due to interest costs relating to the securities purchase agreement with YA Global Investments, L.P. dated June 12, 2008, and interest costs relating to the securities purchase agreement with Brencourt Advisors, LLC dated August 8, 2008.
We expect interest expense to remain flat during the coming twelve months.
Net Loss
Our net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2009 was $2,141,047 or $0.16 per share, an increase of $917,813 or approximately 75% compared to a net loss of $1,223,234 for the three months ended March 31, 2008. In addition to the year over year variances described above, the increase in Net Loss was primarily due to a loss in the three month period ending March 31, 2009 of $732,295which was due to the change in value of the equity-linked financial instruments as mandated by Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") ratified Emerging Issues Task Force ("EITF") Issue No. 07-5, "Determining Whether an Instrument (or Embedded Feature) Is Indexed to Entity's Own Stock ("EITF 07-5"). (See Note 6 of the Notes to condensed consolidated financial statements, March 31, 2009 - Derivative Liabilities).
Going Concern
Our independent certified public accountants have stated in their report included in our annual report on SEC Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2009 and as amended on April 30, 2009 that we have incurred a net loss and negative cash flows from operations of $5,807,353 and $4,769,496, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2008. This loss, in addition to a lack of operational history, raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. We currently have sufficient working capital to fund operations through December 2009. In the absence of significant revenue and profits, and since we do not expect to generate significant revenues in the foreseeable future, we, in order to fund future operations, will be completely dependent on additional debt and equity financing arrangements. There is no assurance that any financing will be sufficient to fund our capital expenditures, working capital and other cash requirements beyond December 2009. No assurance can be given that any such additional funding will be available or that, if available, can be obtained on terms favorable to us. If we are unable to raise needed funds on acceptable terms, we will not be able to develop or enhance our products, take advantage of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated requirements. A material shortage of capital will require us to take drastic steps such as reducing our level of operations, disposing of selected assets or seeking an acquisition partner. If cash is insufficient, we will not be able to continue operations.
The Company expects losses to increase during the coming twelve months. The Company does not expect to begin to generate revenue in the coming twelve months, and our costs are likely to increase as continue our research and development efforts on our early, pre-clinical stage products and build out our corporate infrastructure.
Plan of Operations
We expect to continue to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future, primarily due to our continued research and development activities attributable to Radilex, Viprovex and any other proposed product, if any, derived from Homspera and general and administrative activities.
The preliminary results of our pre-clinical studies using Homspera, Radilex and Viprovex may not be indicative of results that will be obtained from subsequent studies or from more extensive trials. Further, our pre-clinical or clinical trials may not be successful, and we may not be able to obtain the required regulatory approvals in a timely fashion, or at all.
Product Research and Development
We incurred expenses of $184,403 for the three months ended March 31, 2009 in research and development activities related to the development of Homspera, Radilex and Viprovex versus expenses of $222,171 for the three months ended March 31, 2008. From our inception in October 2002, we have spent $3,044,299 on research and development activities. These costs only include the manufacture and delivery of our drug by third party manufacturers and payments to contract research organizations and consultants for consulting related to our studies and costs of performing such studies. Significant costs relating to research and development, such as compensation for Dr. Siegel, have been classified in officers' salaries for consistency of financial reporting.
We anticipate that during the next 12 months we will decrease our research and development spending to a total of approximately $500,000 in an effort to further develop Radilex and Viprovex. This research and development cost estimate includes additional animal pharmacology studies, formulation and animal safety/toxicity studies. If we receive additional funds, through investment funding, licensing agreements or grants, we expect we will increase our research and development spending above this level.
We believe that initial revenues, if any, will likely be generated through partnerships, alliances and/or licensing agreements with pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies. Our focus during the next 12 months will be to identify those companies which we believe may have an interest in our proposed products and attempt to negotiate arrangements for potential partnerships, alliances and/or licensing arrangements. Alliances between pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies can take a variety of organizational forms and involve many different payment structures such as upfront payments, milestone payments, equity injections and royalty payments. To date, we have not entered into discussions with and have no agreements or arrangements with any such companies. Even if we are successful in entering into such a partnership or alliance or licensing our technology, we anticipate that the earliest we may begin to generate revenues from operations would be calendar year 2010. There is no assurance that we will ever be successful in reaching such agreements or ever generate revenues from operations.
We will need to generate significant revenues from product sales and or related royalties and license agreements to achieve and maintain profitability. Through March 31, 2009, we had no revenues from any product sales, royalties or licensing fees, and have not achieved profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our ability to achieve profitability depends upon, among other things, our ability to develop products, obtain regulatory approval for products under development and enter into agreements for product development, manufacturing and commercialization. Moreover, we may never achieve significant revenues or profitable operations from the sale of any of our potential products or technologies.
If product development or approval does not occur as scheduled, our time to reach market will be lengthened and our costs will substantially increase. Additionally, we may be requested to expand our findings to gather additional data or we may not achieve the desired results. If so, we may have to design new protocols and conduct additional studies. This will increase our costs and delay the time to market for our potential products, if any. Any of these occurrences would have a material negative impact on our business and our liquidity as it may cause us to seek additional capital sooner than expected and allow our competitors to successfully enter the market ahead of us.
If we are successful in achieving desirable results for these applications, we intend to design the protocols and begin further studies for this and other applications, when capital is available. As we have only collected preliminary data and additional studies are required, we cannot predict when, if ever, a viable treatment for these indications can be commercialized. If we do not observe significant results or we lack the capital to further the development, we may abandon such research and development efforts; thereby limiting our future potential revenues.
If we are successful in completing our studies and the results are as we anticipate, we intend to prepare and submit the necessary documentation to the FDA and other regulatory agencies for approval. If approval for Homspera, Radilex and/or Viprovex is granted, we expect to begin efforts to commercialize our product, if any, immediately thereafter, however, since we are currently in the pre-clinical stage of development, it will take an indeterminate amount of time in development before we have a marketable drug, if ever.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
There were no off-balance sheet arrangements as of March 31, 2009.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
At March 31, 2009, we had current assets of $2,406,690 consisting of cash and cash equivalents of $2,217,726, and prepaid assets and other current assets of $188,964. Also, at March 31, 2009, we had current liabilities of $2,325,650 consisting of accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $750,650, notes payable of $1,500,000 and redemption option liability of $75,000. This resulted in working capital of $81,040. During the three months ended March 31, 2009, we used cash in operating activities of $939,000. From the date of inception (October 30, 2002) to March 31, 2009, we had a net loss of $23,438,203 and used cash of $14,158,476 in operating activities. We met our cash requirements from our inception (October 30, 2002) through March 31, 2009 via the private placement of $7,889,151 of our common stock and $8,573,628 from the issuance of notes payable, net of repayments.
We currently have no revenue. There is no guarantee that our business model will be successful, or that we will be able to generate sufficient revenue to fund future operations. As a result, we expect our operations to continue to use net cash, and that we will be required to seek additional debt or equity financings during the coming quarters. Since inception, we have financed our operations through debt and equity financing. While we have raised capital to meet our working capital and financing needs in the past, additional financing is required in order to meet our current and projected cash flow deficits from operations and development of our product line.
Since our inception, we have been seeking additional third-party funding. During such time, we have retained a number of different investment banking firms to assist us in locating available funding; however, we have not yet been successful in obtaining any of the long-term funding needed to make us into a commercially viable entity. During the period from October 2002 to March 31, 2009, we were able to obtain financing of $17,557,526 from the private placements of our securities (which resulted in net proceeds to us of $16,462,779). In January 2008 we sold $2 million in secured convertible debentures which resulted in net proceeds to us of $1,815,000. In June 2008 we sold an additional $1 million of the secured convertible debentures as per the terms of the securities purchase agreement with YA Global Investments L.P. In August 2008 we sold $5 million in secured convertible debentures to a group of funds managed by Brencourt Advisors LLP. Based on our current plan of operations all of our current funding is expected to be depleted by the end of December 2009. If we are not successful in generating sufficient liquidity from operations or in raising sufficient capital resources, it would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition.
Our registered independent certified public accountants have stated in their report included in our annual report on SEC Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2009 that the Company's recurring losses and negative cash flow raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
While we have raised capital to meet our working capital and financing needs in the past through debt and equity financings, additional financing will be required in order to implement our business plan and to meet our current and projected cash flow deficits from operations and development. There can be no assurance that we will be able to consummate future debt or equity financings in a timely manner on a basis favorable to us, or at all. If we are unable to raise needed funds, we will not be able to develop or enhance our potential products, take advantage of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated requirements. A material shortage of capital will require us to take drastic steps such as reducing our level of operations, disposing of selected assets or seeking an acquisition partner.
During fiscal year 2009, we will pay our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Scientific Officer an aggregate of $746,000 pursuant to their employment agreements.
We currently have $8,468,889 in notes payable, of which $1,500,000 is current and payable on December 31, 2009. An additional $1,500,000 matures on December 31, 2010 and the remaining balance of $5,468,889 will mature in 2013 and beyond.
Until such time, if at all, as we receive adequate funding, we intend to continue to defer payment of all of our obligations which are capable of being deferred, which actions have resulted in some vendors demanding cash payment for their goods and services in advance, and other vendors refusing to continue to do business with us. We do not expect to generate a positive cash flow from our operations for at least several years, if at all, due to anticipated expenditures for research and development activities, administrative and marketing activities, and working capital requirements and expect to continue to attempt to raise further capital through one or more further private placements. Based on our operating expenses and anticipated research and development activities we believe we have sufficient capital to meet our operating needs through December 2009. Thereafter, we believe that we will require an additional $3,500,000 to meet our expenses over the next 12 months.
Acquisition or Disposition of Plant and Equipment
We did not dispose or acquire any significant property, plant or equipment during the quarter ended March 31, 2009. We do not anticipate the sale of any significant property, plant or equipment during the next twelve months.
Number of Employees
In the three months ending March 31, 2009 we made significant staff reductions, eliminating two employees from the science department, one from the finance department and two administrative personnel.
As of March 31, 2009 we currently have five full-time total employees: Michael K. Wilhelm, our Chief Executive Officer; John N. Fermanis, our Chief Financial Officer; Hal N. Siegel, Ph.D., Vice-President and Chief Scientific Officer; one scientific program manager; and, one administrative personnel. From our inception through the period ended March 31, 2009, we have relied on the services of outside consultants for services.
None of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements, and we believe our relations with our employees are favorable.
. . .
|
|