NATURE OF BUSINESS |
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Jan. 31, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NATURE OF BUSINESS |
NOTE 1 – NATURE OF BUSINESS
PharmaCyte Biotech, Inc. (“Company”) is a biotechnology company focused on developing cellular therapies for cancer, diabetes and malignant ascites based upon a proprietary cellulose-based live cell encapsulation technology known as “Cell-in-a-Box®.” The Cell-in-a-Box® technology is intended to be used as a platform upon which therapies for several types of cancer, including locally advanced, inoperable pancreatic cancer (“LAPC”) will be developed. The current generation of the Company’s product candidate is referred to as “CypCaps™.”
The Company is a Nevada corporation incorporated in 1996. In 2013, the Company restructured its operations to focus on biotechnology. The Company acquired licenses from SG Austria Pte. Ltd., a Singapore corporation (“SG Austria”) to treat cancer and Austrianova Singapore Pte. Ltd., a Singapore corporation (“Austrianova Singapore”) to treat diabetes using the Cell-in-the-Box technology. 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. In January 2015, the Company changed its name from Nuvilex, Inc. to PharmaCyte Biotech, Inc. to reflect the nature of its current business. In October 2021, the Company moved its headquarters from Laguna Hills, California to Las Vegas, Nevada.
On September 1, 2020, the Company submitted an Investigational New Drug Application (“IND”) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for a planned clinical trial in LAPC. On October 1, 2020, the Company received notice from the FDA that it had placed the IND on clinical hold. On October 30, 2020, the FDA sent a letter to the Company setting forth the reasons for the clinical hold and specific guidance on what the Company must do to have the clinical hold lifted.
To lift the clinical hold, the FDA informed the Company that it needs to conduct several additional preclinical studies. The FDA also requested additional information regarding several topics, including DNA sequencing data, manufacturing information and product release specifications. The Company has been in the process of conducting these studies and gathering additional information to submit to the FDA. See “Investigational New Drug Application and Clinical Hold” below.
On August 15, 2022, the Company entered into a Cooperation Agreement (“Cooperation Agreement”) with Iroquois Master Fund Ltd. and its affiliates, pursuant to which the Company elected a reconstituted Board of Directors (“Board”). The Board has formed a Business Review Committee to evaluate, investigate and review the Company’s business, affairs, strategy, management and operations and in its sole discretion to make recommendations to the Company’s management and Board with respect thereto. The Business Review Committee is also reviewing many of the risks relative to the Company’s business. In addition, the Board is reviewing the Company’s development programs and its relationship with SG Austria, including that all licensed patents have expired, that know-how relating to the Company’s Cell-in-a-Box® technology solely resides with SG Austria, and that the incentives of SG Austria and its management may not be currently aligned with those of the Company. The Board has curtailed spending on the Company’s programs, including pre-clinical and clinical activities, until the review by the Business Review Committee and the Board is complete and the Board has determined the actions and plans to be implemented. The Business Review Committee’s recommendations will include potentially seeking a new framework for the Company’s relationship with SG Austria and its subsidiaries. In the event the Company is unsuccessful in seeking an acceptable new framework, the Company will reevaluate whether it should continue those programs which are dependent on SG Austria, including its development programs for LAPC, diabetes and malignant ascites. The issues involving SG Austria have delayed the Company’s timeline for addressing the FDA clinical hold for its planned clinical trial in LAPC and could result in other delays or termination of the development activities. In addition, the curtailment of spending on the Company’s programs pending the review by the Business Review Committee and the Board may cause additional delays.
The Cell-in-a-Box® encapsulation technology potentially enables genetically engineered live human cells to be used as a means to produce various biologically active molecules. The technology is intended to result in the formation of pinhead sized cellulose-based porous capsules in which genetically modified live human cells can be encapsulated and maintained. In a laboratory setting, this proprietary live cell encapsulation technology has been shown to create a micro-environment in which encapsulated cells survive and flourish. They are protected from environmental challenges, such as the sheer forces associated with bioreactors and passage through catheters and needles, which the Company believes enables greater cell growth and production of the active molecules. The capsules are largely composed of cellulose (cotton) and are bioinert.
The Company has been developing therapies for pancreatic and other solid cancerous tumors by using genetically engineered live human cells that it believes are capable of converting a cancer prodrug into its cancer-killing form. The Company encapsulates those cells using the Cell-in-a-Box® technology and places those capsules in the body as close as possible to the tumor. In this way, the Company believes that when a cancer prodrug is administered to a patient with a particular type of cancer that may be affected by the prodrug, the killing of the patient’s cancerous tumor may be optimized.
The Company has also been developing a way to delay the production and accumulation of malignant ascites that results from many types of abdominal cancerous tumors. The Company’s therapy for malignant ascites involves using the same encapsulated cells it employs for pancreatic cancer but placing the encapsulated cells in the peritoneal cavity of a patient and administering ifosfamide intravenously.
In addition to the two cancer programs discussed above, the Company has been working on ways to exploit the benefits of the Cell-in-a-Box® technology to develop therapies for cancer that involve prodrugs based upon certain constituents of the Cannabis plant. However, until the FDA allows us to commence our clinical trial in LAPC and we are able to validate our Cell-in-a-Box® encapsulation technology in a clinical trial, we are not spending any further resources developing our Cannabis Program.
Finally, the Company has been developing a potential therapy for Type 1 diabetes and insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes. The Company’s product candidate for the treatment of diabetes consists of encapsulated genetically modified insulin-producing cells. The encapsulation will be done using the Cell-in-a-Box® technology. Implanting these encapsulated cells in the body is designed to have them function as a bio-artificial pancreas for purposes of insulin production.
Until the review by the Business Review Committee and the Board is complete and the Board has determined the actions and plans to be implemented, spending on the Company’s programs has been curtailed.
Investigational New Drug Application and Clinical Hold
On September 1, 2020, the Company submitted an IND to the FDA for a planned clinical trial in LAPC. On October 1, 2020, the Company received notice from the FDA that it had placed the Company’s IND on clinical hold. On October 30, 2020, the FDA sent the Company a letter setting forth the reasons for the clinical hold and providing specific guidance on what the Company must do to have the clinical hold lifted.
In order to address the clinical hold, the FDA requested that the Company:
The FDA also requested that the Company address the following issues as an amendment to the Company’s IND:
The Company assembled a scientific and regulatory team of experts to address the FDA requests. That team has been working diligently to complete the items requested by the FDA. The Company is conducting studies of the technology. The Company has completed the pilot study of two pigs and is evaluating the preliminary data before commencing the larger study of 90 pigs.
Nasdaq Listing
The Company’s common stock began trading on Nasdaq on August 10, 2021, under the symbol “PMCB.” Prior to that, the Company’s common stock was quoted on the OTCQB Market under the symbol “PMCB.”
Increase in Authorized Shares
On September 6, 2023, pursuant to stockholder approval received at a special meeting of stockholders, the Company filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada a Certificate of Change to its Articles of Incorporation, as amended, to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock from 133,333,334 to . The Certificate of Change had no impact on the number of authorized shares of preferred stock, which remains at .
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