Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

NATURE OF BUSINESS

v3.24.3
NATURE OF BUSINESS
6 Months Ended
Oct. 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 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”) 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. 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 U.S. 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. 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.

 

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:

 

  · Provide additional sequencing data and genetic stability studies;
     
  · Conduct a stability study on ‌the Company’s final formulated product candidate as well as the cells from the Company’s Master Cell Bank;
     
  · Evaluate the compatibility of the delivery devices (the prefilled syringe and the microcatheter used to implant the CypCaps) with ‌the Company’s product candidate for pancreatic cancer;
     
  · Provide additional detailed description of the manufacturing process of ‌the Company’s product candidate for pancreatic cancer;
     
  · Provide additional product release specifications for the Company’s encapsulated cells;
     
  · Demonstrate comparability between the 1st and 2nd generation of ‌the Company’s product candidate for pancreatic cancer and ensure adequate and consistent product performance and safety between the two generations;
     
  · Conduct a biocompatibility assessment using the Company’s capsules material;
     
  · Address specified insufficiencies in the Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls information in the cross-referenced Drug Master File;
     
  · Conduct an additional nonclinical study in a large animal (such as a pig) to assess the safety, activity, and distribution of the product candidate for pancreatic cancer; and
     
  · Revise the Investigators Brochure to include any additional preclinical studies conducted in response to the clinical hold and remove any statements not supported by the data the Company generated.

 

The FDA also requested that the Company address the following issues as an amendment to the Company’s IND:

 

  · Provide a Certificate of Analysis for pc3/2B1 plasmid that includes tests for assessing purity, safety, and potency;
     
  · Perform qualification studies for the drug filling step to ensure that the Company’s product candidate for pancreatic cancer remains sterile and stable during the filling process;
     
  · Submit an updated batch analysis for the Company’s product candidate for the specific lot that will be used for manufacturing all future product candidates;
     
  · Provide additional details for the methodology for the Resorufin (CYP2B1) potency and the PrestoBlue cell metabolic assays;
     
  · Provide a few examples of common microcatheters that fit the specifications in ‌the Company’s Angiography Procedure Manual;
     
  · Clarify the language in ‌our Pharmacy Manual regarding proper use of the syringe fill with the Company’s product candidate for pancreatic cancer; and
     
  · Provide a discussion with data for trial of the potential for cellular and humoral immune reactivity against the heterologous rat CYP2B1 protein and potential for induction of autoimmune-mediated toxicities in ‌our study population.

 

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.