Provectus Updates Shareholders in Its Annual CEO Letter Tuesday April 24, 2012
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB: PVCT, http://www.pvct.com) updates its shareholders on the clinical progress and corporate developments the company achieved during 2011. The company also provides insight on its accomplishments and plans for the first part of 2012.
Dear Shareholders:
We appreciate the continued support of our shareholders as Provectus continues to advance our goal of regulatory approval of our novel oncological and dermatological therapies. 2011 was another year of progress for the company as we achieved several clinical development milestones for both PV-10 and PH-10. We reported significant developments with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") regarding our lead oncology drug, PV-10, and our team had multiple active interactions with the FDA to optimize the Phase 3 protocol for our upcoming Phase 3 clinical trial for metastatic melanoma. We also reported clinical progress on PH-10, our dermatological drug.
With the completion of Phase 2 trials for both PV-10 and PH-10, we believe each of our drug candidates provides a strong value proposition for our shareholders. PV-10's clinical results indicate it is potentially very efficacious for several indications, it is comparatively safe, can provide local and systemic benefits, and has multi-indication viability. Clinical testing and immunological studies have provided us a great sense of encouragement about PV-10's value as both a local therapy against injected tumors and its potential systemic benefit against metastases elsewhere in the body. Top-line results from PH-10's Phase 2C clinical trial recently accelerated our discussions with potential partners, bringing us closer to a licensing agreement that would trigger the hiring of a financial advisor to effect a licensing transaction.
Highlights of Provectus's progress are outlined below:
PV-10
Metastatic Melanoma
During 2011 we held our second and third meetings with the FDA to discuss the design of a pivotal Phase 3 randomized controlled trial ("RCT") suitable for Special Protocol Assessment ("SPA"). In December the FDA provided us further guidance regarding the submission of our Phase 3 protocol for review, notifying us that they did not require an additional end-of-Phase 2 meeting. Using the recommendations that we received from senior FDA officials regarding patient population and primary endpoint, we are requesting SPA review of our protocol. While the review process could occur in as little as 45 days from the date of submission, we expect it will be an iterative process, and thus, more time may be required to work with the FDA on a study design agreement. This, we believe, represents a major step for our company, probably the most significant achievement yet, in our pathway to approval for PV-10.
As you may recall, too, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration ("TGA") has agreed in November 2010 to the same primary endpoint of progression free survival that has been proposed to the FDA. In our meetings with TGA we discussed the use of interim data from the first half of Phase 3 study subjects, in conjunction with safety data collected in earlier studies of PV-10 for melanoma, to allow early evaluation for marketing approval in Australia for metastatic melanoma. TGA agreed that these data should be sufficient for this review if the analysis confirmed efficacy.
In addition, nonclinical studies, designed to characterize the immunologic response to PV-10 chemoablation, have been conducted by researchers at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, with initial results reported in March 2012 at the Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Meeting. Paul Toomey, M.D., presented his work and that of his colleagues, confirming that PV-10 chemoablation of melanoma lesions leads to induction of systemic, tumor-specific anti-tumor immunity. Additional nonclinical studies are underway with confirmatory clinical studies planned. This work is fundamental for full characterization of PV-10's systemic benefit and may provide pivotal support for accelerated approval in the U.S.
Liver Metastasis
In April 2011 we received orphan drug designation from the FDA for Rose Bengal, the active ingredient in PV-10, for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma ("HCC"), the most common form of primary liver cancer. This designation entitles Provectus to exclusive marketing rights for PV-10 for HCC in the U.S. for up to seven years if we are the first company to receive marketing approval for this therapeutic drug product. We are also eligible to apply for a waiver from the FDA of certain user fees required by the Prescription Drug User Fee Act ("PDUFA"). In other words, once regulatory approval is received, orphan drug designation provides assurance for the value of our company's proprietary property, grants us market exclusivity, thereby affording us both financial and regulatory benefits. This orphan drug designation for HCC is in addition to that received for metastatic melanoma in December 2006.
We are conducting nonclinical drug-drug interaction studies to verify safety of combining PV-10 with sorafenib, the standard of care for nonresectable locally advanced primary liver cancer. This supports advanced development of PV-10 for HCC in clinical studies comparing PV-10 with the standard of care versus the standard of care alone, to demonstrate an overall survival benefit of treating HCC with PV-10. We expect to provide further guidance on this important indication when we are closer to commencing a Phase 2 or Phase 2/3 clinical study.
Breast Cancer and Other Oncology Indications
One of our many objectives during 2011 was to demonstrate that PV-10 has multi-indication potential, and we intend to continue that quest in 2012. We are now in a position for a Phase 2 study in recurrent breast carcinoma, following the completion of our Phase 1 study several years ago. We look forward to being able to report further progress on this indication as well. Furthermore, we have shown success with PV-10 in treating pancreatic cancer in nonclinical studies and are considering a proof of concept clinical study in this equally important indication.
Compassionate Use Program
I am also pleased to report that our Compassionate Use Program for PV-10 for patients with non-visceral cancers continues, with over 70 patients enrolled in six centers across the U.S. and Australia. The protocol for this program enables subjects to undergo more frequent and extensive treatments with PV-10 over a longer period of time than was allowed under the protocols used for the Phase 1 and 2 trials. We believe this dose regimen serves as a blueprint for our planned Phase 3 clinical trial for metastatic melanoma.
PH-10
Psoriasis
Our largest clinical trial to date was completed in 2011. The data from this Phase 2C RCT, which enrolled ninety-nine subjects with mild-to-moderate plaque psoriasis, corroborated the potential effectiveness of PH-10 observed in these patients in our earlier clinical study.
Reaching this milestone has also triggered increased efforts for our company to seek a licensure of PH-10 for the treatment of serious dermatological diseases, which would include psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, another indication for which PH-10 has completed Phase 2 clinical trials. We remain on track to secure a term sheet from a potential partner that would lead to a proposed licensing agreement and the engagement of a financial advisor to effect this transaction.
We have also successfully completed various dermatological toxicity studies which are appropriate at this stage of development of PH-10. We will work with the FDA to design the remaining toxicity studies necessary to support a New Drug Approval (NDA) filing. Because of the well-tolerated safety profile of Rose Bengal, we are enthusiastic about the potential for widespread acceptance of PH-10 upon eventual expected approval.
PRESENTATIONS AT SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES
PV-10 was the subject of several scientific presentations this year. Of particular note, Dr. Sanjiv Agarwala, Principal Investigator for the Phase 2 melanoma study, presented data at the European Association of Dermato-Oncology ("EADO") Conference in Nantes, France, in June 2011. This audience of prospective European investigators who specialize in dermato-oncology had a special interest in injectable therapies, and we were encouraged by the level of interest this group had in PV-10, particularly as we prepare for a global Phase 3 trial.
In November 2011, Professor Merrick Ross, M.D., a Principal Investigator for our Phase 2 Melanoma trial, delivered a presentation at the 2011 International Melanoma Congress during the 5th Meeting of Interdisciplinary Melanoma/Skin Cancer Centres meeting in Tampa, Florida. His presentation included a discussion on the role of intralesional therapies for controlling both local disease and their possible effect on systemic disease, such as that which has been shown in Phase 2 testing of PV-10.
We expect additional presentations at scientific conferences this year that will be announced when appropriate, as well as various peer-reviewed publications either this year or next.
CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS
Prominent leaders joined our Board of Directors and Corporate Advisory Board this year. Alfred E. Smith IV, Senior Advisor for the Marwood Group, joined our Board of Directors. Mr. Smith has extensive financial and healthcare experience. His knowledge of business and medicine has already helped provide our company with guidance on several drug development and corporate strategies.
Dr. Craig Eagle, MD, Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Partnerships for the Oncology unit at Pfizer, and Stuart Fuchs, Chairman and CEO of CognoSPECTi, joined our Corporate Advisory Board. Dr. Eagle's experience in drug development, and Mr. Fuchs's venture capital and investment banking experience in the biotech industry, are great assets to our company as we further our path towards commercialization. Mr. Fuchs joined the Corporate Advisory Board after having served eight years on our Board of Directors. We expect to appoint others to our respective Boards this year and next.
Our balance sheet remains strong, with $7.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, providing us ample cash to fund our operations through 2013. Since we seek to spin-off our non-core subsidiaries, and concentrate our efforts on our drug development activities, in December 2011 we completed an unregistered offering of Units. Each Unit, which included shares of common stock in Pure-ific and a warrant to purchase ¾ share of the Company's common stock, were sold to accredited investors. The net proceeds of this transaction are expected to be used to spin-off Pure-ific as a new publicly traded company. We plan to fund and spin-off the remaining four non-core subsidiaries as well.
Also, we are in the process of implementing a new executive bonus plan that is expected to be based upon certain additional performance-based criteria, such as stock price and the signing of partnership agreements. This plan will replace the prior one which had been based on the attainment of certain scientific, medical and clinical milestones. We will disclose the details of the new plan once it is finalized.
LOOKING AHEAD
Our focus in 2012 will be to advance the development of our two therapies, and will be measured by our achievement of the following milestones:
PV-10:
- Melanoma - Receive consensus for a Phase 3 SPA from the FDA and TGA and conduct additional immunology studies at Moffitt Cancer Center regarding PV-10's mechanism of action;
- Liver Carcinoma - We intend to meet with the FDA and begin Phase 2/3 clinical trials;
- Compassionate Use - We expect to continue and expand this program;
- New Indications - We will investigate promising new oncology indications, like pancreatic cancer, for PV-10.
PH-10:
- We have reported Phase 2C results for psoriasis, and plan to schedule an End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA to plan transition to Phase 3 testing;
- We also expect to complete our discussions with potential licensees, hire a financial advisor, and sign a licensing agreement that covers dermatological indications.
In closing, on behalf of the company and our Board of Directors, I want to thank our shareholders for their continued support for the company. We remain focused on achieving our milestones and developing novel therapies with commercial viability, as we continue our fight against various cancers and dermatological diseases.
Respectfully,
Craig Dees, Ph.D., CEO
Provectus Pharmaceuticals |
