Since Cellceutix began researching and developing Kevetrin for the treatment of multi-drug resistant cancers, the company’s management team knew that they were on to something with great potential. At first, Kevetrin started as a compound that was being developed for head and neck cancers, but when it was discovered in pre-clinical trials that it could possibly be an effective chemotherapy treatment for strains of cancer that we non-responsive to standard therapies today, the realm of humanitarian and shareholder benefits greatly increased.
The pre-clinical research required to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the FDA has now been concluded on Kevetrin with the data from the toxicology studies being compiled presently to prepare the IND. The pre-clinical data has been very promising throughout the year-long research process and now Cellceutix is ready to take Kevetrin research to the next level, human trials. In the world of biotechnology, many companies have cancer compounds in development, but Cellceutix has something unique as Kevetrin is a 100% novel compound and is designed to provide a treatment for areas of chemotherapy where there is presently a void.
Combine the pre-clinical data and the proximity of human trials with the targeted market for Kevetrin and it is easy to see why Cellceutix has been receiving so many phone calls. In a press release from Cellceutix earlier this week, Chief Financial Officer, Leo Ehrlich, commented, “In the last few weeks, we have been visited by a major financial institution wanting to learn more about Cellceutix, as well as meeting with one of the world’s largest Pharmas who too wished to learn more about Cellceutix.” While the focus of the press release was on more positive data for Kevetrin, this portion of the press release certainly merits revisiting from an investing standpoint.
Large Pharma is notoriously bad at research and development of their own drugs as the trend has shifted to purchasing compounds from smaller biotechs or purchasing the company entirely when they have compounds with solid possibilities of generating large revenues. It is no secret that a successful cancer drug of Kevetrin’s nature can produce phenomenal revenues. Dr. Krishna Menon, Chief Scientific Officer of Cellceutix, has already been a part of this process as he played a key role during his tenure at Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY, $35.12/share) in lead selection and pre-clinical development of Gemzar and Alimta, which had over $2 billion dollars in sales in 2006 alone, and is a co-developer of another seven compounds currently in late-stage clinical development. CEO George Evans certainly is aware of the possibilities after spending 25 years in executive positions at Pfizer, Inc., ending his time there as General Counsel for the worldwide prescription drug unit.
Most small biotechnology companies would be excited to have Kevetrin by itself, but Cellceutix has also established itself as an industry leader in autism research. Recent research has shown that autistic brains share similar characteristic with respect to serotonin levels and plasticity. This has been documented through a culmination of research by several reputable institutions, but a central problem in the industry has been identifying a reliable animal model. Cellceutix is one of the first to overcome that obstacle and has already conducted several pre-clinical studies with very promising early results in animal models for not only physical brain attributes, but also with behavioral traits that typically accompany autism.
The autism compound, KM-391, is bringing attention to Cellceutix not only from the investment community, but also from the general population. Cellceutix recently announced that they have drawn upon their resources to expedite the development of KM-391 due to the public support they are receiving as there is not a single drug on the market today approved as an autism treatment for all ages. To say that Cellceutix is still early in this research would be accurate as human trials are still probably a year away, but given the fact that they are one of the only companies in the world with a novel compound being developed for the treatment of the core issues of autism puts them ahead of the rest of the field.
In the biotechnology world, the possibilities are endless when you develop a successful compound. For a developmental biotech, the struggles can be great, but the rewards can be even greater, especially if you have multiple compounds that are producing promising data. There is a good reason why large pharmas and financial institutions are beginning to focus on Cellceutix.
More information of Cellceutix, their compounds and the investment opportunity they present can be found on the Company’s website at www.cellceutix.com.
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