Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

1. NATURE OF BUSINESS

v3.7.0.1
1. NATURE OF BUSINESS
3 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
NATURE OF BUSINESS

PharmaCyte Biotech, Inc. (“Company”) is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing and preparing to commercialize cellular therapies for cancer and diabetes based upon a proprietary cellulose-based live cell encapsulation technology known as “Cell-in-a-Box®.” The Company intends to use the Cell-in-a-Box® technology as a platform upon which treatments for several types of cancer and diabetes will be developed.

 

The Company is developing therapies for solid cancerous tumors involving the encapsulation of live cells placed in the body to enable the delivery of cancer-killing drugs at the source of the cancer. The Company is also developing a therapy for Type 1 diabetes and insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes based upon the encapsulation of a human cell line genetically engineered to produce, store and secrete insulin at levels in proportion to the levels of blood sugar in the human body using its Cell-in-a-Box® technology. The Company is also examining ways to exploit the benefits of the Cell-in-a-Box® technology to develop therapies for cancer based upon the constituents of the Cannabis plant, known as “Cannabinoids.”

 

Cancer Therapy

 

Targeted Chemotherapy

 

The Company is using the Cell-in-a-Box® technology to develop a therapy for solid cancerous tumors through targeted chemotherapy. For pancreatic cancer, the Company is planning on encapsulating genetically engineered live human cells that produce an enzyme designed to convert the cancer prodrug ifosfamide into its cancer-killing form. The capsules containing these cells will be implanted in a patient in the blood supply as near as possible to the tumor. The cancer prodrug ifosfamide will then be given intravenously at one-third the normal dose. In this way, it is believed that the ifosfamide will be converted at the site of the tumor instead of in the liver where it is normally converted. The Company believes placement of the Cell-in-a-Box® capsules near the tumor will enable the production of optimal concentrations of the “cancer-killing” form of ifosfamide at the site of the cancer. The cancer-killing metabolite of ifosfamide has a short half-life, which the Company believes will result in little to no collateral damage to other organs in the body.

 

Pancreatic Cancer Therapy

 

The Company is developing a therapy for pancreatic cancer to address a critical unmet medical need. This need exists for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer whose tumors are locally advanced, non-metastatic and inoperable, but no longer respond to Abraxane® plus gemcitabine - the current standard of care for advanced pancreatic cancer. These patients have no effective treatment alternative once their tumors no longer respond to this combination therapy.

 

Subject to the approval of the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), the Company plans to commence a clinical trial in locally advanced, inoperable non-metastatic pancreatic cancer (“LAPC”). The proposed clinical trial is designed to show that the Company’s Cell-in-a-Box® plus low-dose ifosfamide therapy can serve as an effective and safe consolidation chemotherapy for LAPC patients whose tumors no longer respond after four to six months of therapy with Abraxane® plus gemcitabine. The trial will take place in the United States, with possible study sites in Europe.

 

Malignant Ascites Fluid Therapy

 

The Company is also developing a therapy to delay the production and accumulation of malignant ascites fluid that results from all abdominal tumors. Malignant ascites fluid is secreted by abdominal tumors into the abdomen after the tumor reaches a certain stage of growth. This fluid contains cancer cells that can seed and form new tumors throughout the abdomen. This fluid accumulates in the abdominal cavity, causing swelling of the abdomen, severe breathing difficulties and extreme pain.

 

Malignant ascites fluid must be surgically removed on a periodic basis. This is painful and costly. There is no therapy that prevents or delays the production and accumulation of malignant ascites fluid. The Company is involved in a series of preclinical studies at Translational Drug Development (“TD2”) to determine if the combination of Cell-in-a-Box® encapsulated cells plus ifosfamide can delay the production and accumulation of malignant ascites fluid. If successful, the Company plans to conduct a clinical trial in the United States if it receives approval to do so from the FDA. Also, the Company plans to have additional study sites in Europe if it receives approval to do so from the European Medicines Agency.

  

Diabetes Therapy

 

Bio-Artificial Pancreas for Diabetes

 

The Company plans to develop a therapy for Type 1 diabetes and insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes. It is developing a therapy that involves encapsulation of human cells that have been genetically engineered to produce, store insulin and release insulin on demand at levels in proportion to the levels of blood sugar (glucose) in the human body. The encapsulation will be done using the Cell-in-a-Box® technology.

 

Cannabis Therapy

 

Cannabinoids

 

The Company plans to use Cannabinoids to develop therapies for cancer, with the initial target of brain cancer. The Company is focusing on developing specific therapies based on carefully chosen molecules rather than using complex Cannabis extracts. The Company believes that targeted Cannabinoid-based chemotherapy utilizing the Cell-in-a-Box® technology offers a “green” approach to treating solid-tumor malignancies.

 

To further its Cannabis therapy development plans, the Company entered a Research Agreement in May 2014 with the University of Northern Colorado. The goal of the research is to develop methods for the identification, separation and quantification of Cannabinoids (some of which are prodrugs) that may be used in combination with the Cell-in-a-Box® technology to treat cancer. Studies have been undertaken using Cannabinoid-like model compounds to identify the appropriate cell type that can convert the selected Cannabinoid prodrugs into metabolites with anticancer activity. Once identified, the genetically modified cells that will produce the appropriate enzyme to convert the Cannabinoid prodrug will be encapsulated using the Company’s Cell-in-a-Box® technology. The encapsulated cells and Cannabinoid prodrugs identified by these studies will then be combined and used for future studies to evaluate their anticancer effectiveness.

 

Company Background and Material Agreements

 

The Company is a Nevada corporation incorporated in 1996. In 2013, the Company restructured its operations to focus on biotechnology. The restructuring resulted in the Company focusing all its efforts upon the development of a novel, effective and safe way to treat cancer and diabetes. On January 6, 2015, the Company changed its name from Nuvilex, Inc. to PharmaCyte Biotech, Inc. to better reflect the nature of its business.

 

In 2011, the Company entered an Asset Purchase Agreement (“APA”) with SG Austria Private Limited (“SG Austria”) to purchase 100% of the assets and liabilities of SG Austria. Austrianova Singapore Pte. Ltd. (“Austrianova”) and Bio Blue Bird AG (“Bio Blue Bird”), wholly-owned subsidiaries of SG Austria, were to become wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company on the condition that the Company pay SG Austria $2.5 million and 100,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company. The Company was to receive 100,000 shares of common stock of Austrianova and nine bearer shares of Bio Blue Bird representing 100% of the ownership of Bio Blue Bird.

 

Through two addenda to the APA, the closing date of the APA was extended twice by agreement between the parties.

 

In June 2013, the Company and SG Austria entered a Third Addendum to the APA (“Third Addendum”). The Third Addendum changed materially the transaction contemplated by the APA. Under the Third Addendum, the Company acquired 100% of the equity interests in Bio Blue Bird and received a 14.5% equity interest in SG Austria. In addition, the Company received nine bearer shares of Bio Blue Bird to reflect its 100% ownership of Bio Blue Bird. The Company paid: (i) $500,000 to retire all outstanding debt of Bio Blue Bird; and (ii) $1.0 million to SG Austria. The Company also paid SG Austria $1,572,193 in exchange for the 14.5% equity interest of SG Austria. The Third Addendum required SG Austria to return the 100,000,000 shares of common stock held by SG Austria and for the Company to return the 100,000 shares of common stock of Austrianova that the Company held.

 

Effective as of the same date of the Third Addendum, the parties entered a Clarification Agreement to the Third Addendum (“Clarification Agreement”) to clarify and include certain language that was inadvertently left out of the Third Addendum. Among other things, the Clarification Agreement confirmed that the Third Addendum granted the Company an exclusive, worldwide license to use, with a right to sublicense, the Cell-in-a-Box® technology for the development of treatments for cancer and use of Austrianova’s Cell-in-a-Box® trademark and associated technology.

   

Bio Blue Bird licensed certain types of genetically modified human cells from Bavarian Nordic A/S (“Bavarian Nordic”) and GSF-Forschungszentrum für Umwelt u. Gesundheit GmbH (collectively, “Bavarian Nordic/GSF”) pursuant to a License Agreement (“Bavarian Nordic/GSF License Agreement”) to develop a therapy for cancer using a certain type of encapsulated cells (“Cells”). The licensed rights to the Cells pertain to the countries in which Bavarian Nordic/GSF obtained patent protection. Hence, facilitated by the acquisition of Bio Blue Bird, the Third Addendum provides the Company with an exclusive, worldwide license to use the Cell-in-a-Box® technology and trademark for the development of a therapy for all forms of cancer using these encapsulated Cells.

 

In June 2013, the Company acquired from Austrianova an exclusive, worldwide license to use the Cell-in-a-Box® technology and trademark for the development of a therapy for Type 1 and insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes (“Diabetes Licensing Agreement”). The Company paid Austrianova $2.0 million to secure this license.

 

In October 2014, the Company entered into an exclusive, worldwide license agreement (“Melligen Cell License Agreement”) with the University of Technology Sydney (“UTS”) in Australia to use insulin-producing genetically engineered cells (“Melligen Cells”) developed by UTS to treat Type 1 diabetes and insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes. The Company plans to develop an effective therapy for diabetes by encapsulating the Melligen Cells using the Cell-in-a-Box® technology.

 

In December 2014, the Company acquired from Austrianova an exclusive, worldwide license to use the Cell-in-a-Box® technology in combination with genetically modified non-stem cell lines which are designed to activate Cannabinoid prodrug molecules for development of therapies for diseases and their related symptoms using of the Cell-in-a-Box® technology and trademark (“Cannabis Licensing Agreement”).

 

In July 2016, the Company entered into a Binding Memorandum of Understanding with Austrianova (“Austrianova MOU”). Pursuant to the Austrianova MOU, Austrianova will actively work with the Company to seek an investment partner or partners who will finance clinical trials and further develop products for our therapy for cancer, in exchange for which the Company, Austrianova and any future investment partner will each receive a portion of the net revenue of cancer products.

 

In October 2016, the parties amended the Bavarian Nordic/GSF License Agreement to include the right to import, reflect ownership and notification of improvements, clarify which provisions survive expiration or termination of the Bavarian Nordic/GSF License Agreement, to provide rights to Bio Blue Bird to the clinical data after expiration of the licensed patent rights and to change the notice address and recipients of Bio Blue Bird.

 

In August 2017, the Company entered into a Binding Term Sheet with SG Austria and Austrianova pursuant to which the parties reached an agreement to amend certain provisions in the APA, the Diabetes Licensing Agreement and the Cannabis Licensing Agreement. See Note 16, Subsequent Events, for additional information.