The poop (revised):
Fountain will begin trading Monday with the symbol FPHID at the 1:20 reverse split price. The symbol will revert back to FPHI in 30d.
The company is primarily involved in developing products, both drugs and cosmetics, for dermatology. They use a proprietary liposome carrier which delivers various compounds to deep layers within the skin but does not penetrate through vasculature. This type of delivery is viewed as beneficial in that it blocks the systemic exposure of dermatological treatments; this same feature would limit its use as a global drug delivery platform. The company indicates it will have a number of products ready to present as NDAs in 1998 but no specifics were given. The company states many dermatologists are frustrated by the dearth of topical treatments which show no systemic activity; some have shown interest in their liposome.
Currently their sole source of revenue is their skin care/sunscreen products. These products are already sold in Europe and distributed on a limited basis domestically. The company claims these treatments are superior to others since they too contain the liposome: the products penetrate the skin and are not effected by exposure to water, etc. Thus a sunscreen will remain intact even after exposure to salt water. A similar logic applies to their skin cream. I have no independent verification of these claims. The company is attempting to distribute these items through dermatologists.
To all who may be interested: THIS IS A VERY, VERY SMALL OPERATION [FOUNTAIN HAS 2 EMPLOYEES ENGAGED IN RESEARCH]. While the patents, process, and products may be intriguing, keep the scale of this company in mind when contemplating an investment. Also, the small company cosmetic industry is fraught with con artists. I cannot determine from my one discussion with Walsh (CEO) his ethics. He seemed reserved about attempting an aggressive marketing campaign but this may have been a sort of reverse PR (e.g. if I don't seem to be promoting it, I'll enhance my integrity).
Latest SEC filing: edgar-online.com
Contact Dr. John Walsh @ Fountain Pharmaceuticals, 7279 Bryan Dairy Road, Largo, Florida 33777 [(813) 548-0900] to verify the above.
Best wishes,
Peter |
