Beach,
You suggested I call for a prospectus earlier today. I called sedar.com and have reviewed the documents.
One thing I noted in the Prospectus is that:
Iain MacInnes(1)(2)
London, Ontario
Secretary-Treasurer, Director
Vice-President/Manager, Levesque Securities Inc. (investment dealer)
seems to match the name of one of this thread's posters.
Another gem:
(1) The authorized capital of the Corporation consists of an unlimited number of Common Shares without nominal or par value, of which, prior to completion of the Offering, 17,999,969 Common Shares are duly issued and outstanding ...;
Wow, without shareholder recourse, any number of new shares can be issued almost as the company sees fit. Great shareholder protection.
The IPO buyer gets about 16-19 cents worth of value for each $1 spent depending upon how many shares are sold.
Assuming the maximum offering and no exercise of the Over-Allotment Option, the offering price of each Common Share exceeds the net tangible book value thereof as at March 31, 1998 by $0.81, representing dilution of 81.0% to purchasers of Common Shares.
On the cover page in the prospectus in BOLD print is the warning:
Investment in the Common Shares should be considered highly speculative due to the nature of the Company's business and its present stage of development. The investment should only be considered by investors who are able to sustain the risk of loss of their entire investment.
Not exactly the most encouraging warning; and the very first time I've read this in a prospectus. Mind you, I've never taken the time to look at an ASE prospectus before.
As a strategy, a company I might purchase should at least indicate a desire to sell something.
Strategy
Procyon's long-term objective is to become a leader in the development of products designed for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer. The Company's strategy over the next 12 to 18 months is to:
1. identify a lead ANA clinical candidate and complete discovery and development activity leading up to the filing of an IND;
2. identify a lead PSP94 clinical therapeutic candidate and complete discovery and development activity leading up to the filing of an IND;
3. continue COLOPATHTM development activity and conduct a pre-IDE meeting with the FDA; and
4. advance FIBROSTATTM to Phase II/III clinical trials while actively seeking strategic co-development and marketing partners for commercialization.
Seems to me that they haven't even got a disease that they're targetting for most of their riveting stories. BWDIK?
And does the following indicate a long or successful history in this business?
Procyon BioPharma Inc. ("Procyon" or the "Company") was incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario on November 27, 1986 as Waverly Mansion Corporation and commenced operations in March 1989. The name of the Company was changed to Vetrogen Corporation and then to Procyon BioPharma Inc. on May 16, 1994. Effective November 30, 1996, the Company amalgamated with 799388 Ontario Limited, whose only asset at that time was shares of Procyon. The registered and principal office of the Company is located at 746 Baseline Road, Suite 100, London, Ontario N6C 5Z2.
On September 29, 1997, Procyon acquired Oncologic Biopharmaceuticals Corporation ("Oncologic"), a cancer research company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, for which the Company issued 3,545,655 Common Shares (and 1,575,845 common share purchase warrants as contingent consideration and subject to certain vesting conditions). Oncologic is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and conducts its research in laboratory space leased by Oncologic at the Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Institute in Boston, Massachusetts.
and their detection device seems to leave much to be desired. (Non medical opinion, it just seems that a 1/2 inch polyp could be detected 100 % of the time.)
Clinical studies performed to date have shown that most individuals with either colorectal cancer or large polyps (greater than one centimetre) fall within the COLOPATH-positive group. In all of these trials, the COLOPATHTM test has been demonstrated to be highly sensitive in identifying patients with significant colorectal pathology. A report presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in 1995, using an early version of the test, showed that 92% of patients with colorectal cancer (23 out of 25) and 80% of patients with large polyps (24 out of 30) tested COLOPATH-positive.
And another tiny little red flag, IMO.
Possibility of Conflict
Certain of the directors and officers of the Company are also directors, officers and shareholders of other companies, including other biotechnology companies and, consequently, although no conflicts of interest presently exist, there exists the possibility for such directors and officers to be in a position of conflict.
Pardon me, I'd say a strong potential for conflict already exists. ... and I'd further say that it hasn't been adequately disclosed in the prospectus. Which Directors and Which officers have what conflicting positions with what other companies?
I must confess that what I saw didn't encourage me to read the prospectus in depth. It may very well be a very fine company with fabulous prospects. I saw nothing that would convince me to put even a single $ at risk with it.
In any case, good luck with all your investments.
Regards,
Ian. |
