Vancouver, British Columbia – October 15, 2013 – Sirona Biochem Corp. (TSX-V: SBM, OTCQX: SRBCF) today provided a business update.
I’d like to take this opportunity to summarize Sirona Biochem’s business and strategic growth over the past 12 months.
Financial
In October 2012, Sirona Biochem’s share price hit a low of 4 cents and our market cap was $3 million CDN. We made the decision to raise money using a debt instrument to avoid a punitive equity financing. We raised $600,000 in debt which gave us the financial runway to grow the value of the company to a high of 14 cents per share and a market cap of more than $11 million on January 18th 2013.
February 22, 2013 we announced an equity financing target of $2.7 million and we closed the second tranche of this financing on April 30, 2013 having raised $1.8 million in equity.
September 11, 2013 we announced an equity financing target of $1 million and we oversubscribed the private placement, closing on September 19th having raised $1.17 million.
On October 11, 2013, Sirona’s share price was 16.5 cents and our market cap was $17.83 million CDN, representing an increase in market capitalization of $14,644,394.00 CDN and a market capitalization increase of 560%.
As of October 11, 2013, Sirona Biochem’s running 3 month average trading volume was in excess of 500,000 shares per day.
Strategy
The decision was made in November 2012 that we would de-risk our business model and simplify our operations.
Sirona’ Biochem’s business model:
Sirona Biochem’s expertise is in creating new chemical compounds (pharmaceutical and cosmetic) that have distinct advantages over existing technologies. Each compound that we create will be licensed to an industry-leading company who will be responsible for developing, manufacturing and selling the compound. In return for the licenses, Sirona will receive licensing fees, milestone payments and ongoing royalty payments. The more compounds Sirona Biochem creates, the more revenue streams Sirona Biochem receives.
With this level of strategic focus, we diversify our risk across multiple projects, increase our portfolio size more quickly and continue to build our credibility and reputation as experts in the discovery of innovative therapeutics.
Operations
In November 2012 we restructured the company and downsized our corporate head office by one position. In our laboratory in France we assessed every project in development and made the decision to focus our resources on two projects (SGLT2 inhibitor and skin lightening) to ensure each would be completed and available for transaction within 6 months. All other projects were assigned a timeline for re-insertion into the development pipeline contingent upon the successful completion of our two prioritized projects.
Business Development
In the last 12 months we have attended / presented at the following meetings, conferences and events:
- In Cosmetics Asia (Thailand)
- In Cosmetics Europe (France)
- Bio Partnering North America (Vancouver)
- BioPharm America (Boston)
- BIO International Convention (Chicago)
- BIOTECanada CEO Summit (Chicago)
- BioInvestor Forum (San Francisco)
- Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shanghai, China (2 trips – business development and investor relations)
- Paris, Rouen, France (5 trips – business development and management of TFChem)
- New York, USA (4 trips – investor relations and setting up strategic relationships)
- Tokyo, Yokohama, Japan (business development)
- California, USA (3 trips – business development and investor relations)
- Toronto, Canada (business development and investor relations)
- London, UK (Cosmetic Business Innovation Awards – Sirona Biochem’s skin lightening compound was a finalist in the Innovation in Ingredients category, competing against Dow Chemical, Dove Spa, Mibelle Biochemistry and Seppic)
Our process for maximizing the potential value of our compounds is as follows: we connect with as many pharmaceutical, biotech, cosmetic and consumer health companies as possible that may have interest in our technology. Starting all of these discussions in parallel enables us to move the conversations forward within a predictable window of opportunity. These concurrent conversations create a competitive environment for our technology, maximizing its value within the marketplace.
Summary:
As a result of our international team’s efforts, in the last 7 months Sirona Biochem has announced the following:
- Material Transfer Agreement with VitamFero, a member of Genopole, for testing of our biological preservation technology in combination with their live attenuated animal vaccines.
- Letter of Intent (LOI) with Biogalenys to develop preclinical data supporting multiple applications of Sirona Biochem’s glycoprotein (cell preservation technology).
- Letter of Intent (LOI) with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the #3ranked hospital among all honor roll hospitals in the USA. The goal of our collaboration is to combine our proprietary technologies to create a novel skin care technology which will be commercialized by a global leader in cosmetic or consumer packaged goods sales.
- Letter of Intent (LOI) with Wanbang Pharma, China’s number one ranked anti-diabetic company. Wanbang Pharma will receive an exclusive license for sales of Sirona Biochem’s SGLT2 Inhibitor in the People’s Republic of China in return for licensing and clinical milestone fees and ongoing royalty payments. Wanbang Pharma will be responsible for funding all clinical studies and development of the SGLT2 Inhibitor and Sirona Biochem will receive all of the data generated by Wanbang Pharma with the goal of exponentially raising the value of Sirona Biochem’s SGLT2 Inhibitor for licensing agreements throughout the rest of the world.
- Letter of Intent (LOI) with Obagi Medical Products for a global exclusive license of Sirona Biochem’s skin lightening compound TFC-849. Obagi Medical Products will be responsible for all development, manufacturing and sales of the compound and in return Sirona Biochem will receive licensing and milestone fees and ongoing royalty payments.
- Letter of Intent (LOI) to create a joint venture with Bloom Burton and Co., Canada’s largest and most active healthcare-specialized investment banking group. The goal of this joint venture is to conduct collaborative research to develop and commercialize new therapeutics in the areas of inflammation and infectious disease.
Moving forward we are strategically and operationally optimized to transition Sirona Biochem to its next phase of growth. Our short term focus is to formalize each of the LOIs that we have signed, confirming Sirona Biochem’s first commercial transactions and predictable revenue streams. These formal agreements will mark the final transition from our being a research and development operation to a revenue generating business with globally recognized and respected brands as our partners.
Our near term goals include setting up future pipeline projects and growing our R&D infrastructure. In the next 30 months we plan to add 28 new employees and almost triple the size of TFChem, our laboratory in France. We are working now to fill our development pipeline with projects for our new chemistry teams. This growth plan is tied directly to our goal of significantly increasing the number of projects we are able to undertake concurrently. The greater the number of compounds we create, the greater the number of transactions and revenue generating partnerships that will drive our business growth and shareholder value.
Our overarching goal is for Sirona Biochem to become recognized as a global leader in the discovery of new products for leading cosmetic and pharmaceutical brands. Continued success creating commercially innovative and lucrative products for global brands will make Sirona Biochem a prized resource for the world’s largest companies.
Best Regards,
Neil Belenkie, CEO
Sirona Biochem
About Sirona Biochem Corp.
Sirona Biochem is not a traditional biotech company. Sirona is a product-pipeline company with a proprietary technology platform developed at its laboratory facility in France. The company specializes in the stabilization of carbohydrate molecules, with the goal of improving compounds’ efficacy and safety. Sirona Biochem’s compounds are being developed for both pharmaceutical and cosmetic marketplaces and are patented as new chemical entities for maximum commercial protection and revenue potential. Newly developed compounds are licensed to leading companies around the world in return for licensing and milestone fees and ongoing royalty payments. TFChem, Sirona Biochem’s wholly-owned French laboratory is a recipient of multiple French national scientific awards and a European Union and French government grant. For more information visit www.sironabiochem.com.
For more information regarding this press release, contact:
Antonia Issa
Communications Manager
Sirona Biochem Corp.
Phone: 1.604.282.6065
Email: aissa@sironabiochem.com
Sirona Biochem cautions you that statements included in this press release that are not a description of historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based upon current expectations and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of release of the relevant information, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, Sirona Biochem’s forward-looking statements due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in Sirona Biochem’s business including, without limitation, statements about: the progress and timing of its clinical trials; difficulties or delays in development, testing, obtaining regulatory approval, producing and marketing its products; unexpected adverse side effects or inadequate therapeutic efficacy of its products that could delay or prevent product development or commercialization; the scope and validity of patent protection for its products; competition from other pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies; and its ability to obtain additional financing to support its operations. Sirona Biochem does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law.