Last week, Mentor Capital (OTC: MNTR.PK) announced plans to launch an actively managed Cancer Immunotherapy (CI) Index fund shortly after New Year's Day that will be based on the underlying
Mentor Capital CI Index, which has gained 45% on an equal-weight basis since its inception on 7/10/09. MNTR.PK intends to invest a significant portion of the cash proceeds from the exercise of warrants which are currently outstanding on a stepped-price basis at $1, $3, $5, and $7 per share.
The Company also announced that $1.2 million each in initial seed funding for the CI Index will be provided in approximately equal parts by Mentor Capital management, WellCap Partners (fund administrator) , and MNTR.PK Series C warrant holders. Mentor Capital currently has about 900,000 shares outstanding and the Series C warrants were called last week at $0.65 (for a period of 45 days) to provide approximately one-third of the initial seed funding for the CI Index fund. New companies will be evaluated over time for inclusion in the index and MNTR.PK will invest on a passive basis in all of the CI Index components. The actively managed fund will seek to outperform the overall CI Index performance by establishing larger weightings among the companies it judges to have the best commercial and medical technology development potential.
Privately held Quantum Immunologics (QI) will account for the majority of the CI Fund's initial investment, based on Mentor Capital's existing agreement to purchase 20% of QI's shares (187,000) through mid-2010 and the option to purchase an additional 120,000 shares based on a progressing formula that provides additional flexibility for MNTR.PK shareholders. Other potential companies of interest that are currently included in the CI Index based on current valuations, development pipelines, intellectual property (IP) / patent estate, and commercial potential include ImmunoCellular Therapeutics (IMUC.OB) and Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CLDX).
Quantum Immunologics (QI) is a privately held company that is dedicated to improving the treatment outcome and quality of life for cancer patients through the research, development, and commercialization of innovative, cost-effective therapeutic and diagnostic products.