NeoPharm, Inc.
(Public, OTC:NEOL)
At first glance, NeoPharm Inc. (OTC:NEOL) seems like just another regular cancer FDA play, however upon closer inspection there are numerous key facts that set it apart, making it a valuable investment option for biotech enthusiasts. Here at StocksHaven Investments, we don't just like this company — we like it a lot! Firstly, a deep pipeline which targets billions of dollars in market potential, including treatments for: Metastatic Brain Cancer, Metastatic Solid Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Glioblastoma Multiforme, and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. An undervalued price per share due to the company's inability to meet the NASDAQ requirements, thus leading to a delisting. All the while having a 4Q09 which is bound to reap news and announcements across the board with regards to the ongoing clinical trials. The company's financials certainly took a hit during second quarter 2009, however, what do you expect given that they've had a busier year with regards to clinical and preclinical development testing than ever before.
About NeoPharm Inc.
NeoPharm has multiple drug candidates in various points of clinical development, including a LEP-ETU Phase II trial for breast and ovarian cancer, a LE-DT Phase I trial, also for various forms of cancer and Cintredekin Besudotox preclinical studies for untreatable brain diseases in humans.
The company's robust pipeline has additional indications for Cintredekin Besudotox for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and its product initiatives are funded and progressing as planned.
NeoPharm's clinical trials have been structured to capitalize on broader indications of cancer. With a reorganization strategy originally announced in April 2007, NeoPharm has achieved significant cost-savings and put into place an optimal cost structure which enables the company to focus primarily on the development of drug candidates. The company has significantly reduced its cash consumption rate and has resources available to fund current candidates in development into the second quarter of 2010.
Key initiatives completed as part of this reorganization include:
Annualized cash consumption levels reduced to approximately $5 million
Cost structure realigned to optimize the progress of several drug candidates to next strategic event
Streamlined organization to include a core team of technical employees to support development activities and ensure regulatory compliance for all drug candidates
Formed a new management team with relevant experience and expertise, including Dr. Aquilur Rahman, NeoPharm's co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor
Pipeline
NeoPharm is a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing drugs for the treatment of various cancers and other diseases using enhanced and innovative drug delivery systems. NeoPharm is focused on providing life-saving and life-enhancing solutions to the drug delivery and oncology markets.
The following table summarizes key information about our current drug product candidate pipeline:
Products
Cintredekin Besudotox
The drug product candidate which they have advanced the furthest is Cintredekin Besudotox, a tumor-targeting toxin being developed as a treatment for glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM, a deadly form of brain cancer.
Glioblastoma multiformes (GBM) is the most common type of malignant primary brain tumor in adults. They are very aggressive, having tentacles that spread and mix with normal brain tissue, damaging the adjacent tissue as they grow uncontrollably in the brain. Treatment success has not significantly changed over the last 20 years, with most patients living less than one year after diagnosis despite aggressive surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
Radiation therapy has been the most effective adjuvant therapy for these tumors, but the inherent resistance to radiation therapy and the risk of damaging the adjacent normal brain tissue limits its overall efficacy. GBM is intrinsically resistant to most chemotherapy and very few drugs cross the natural barrier present in the blood vessels of the brain (blood-brain barrier) which means that even drugs that work in the laboratory and in animals cannot reach the tumor cells within the brain. This unfortunate combination has resulted in only two FDA approved chemotherapy for this type of tumor with two forms of delivery, by vein or by local biodegradable wafers. The impact of these approved therapies increases survival in patients with this deadly tumor by only a few weeks.
