Dear Fellow Shareholder,
One of the most challenging tasks as CEO is taking the vision of the Board and transferring that into meaningful value for our shareholders. However, 2018 marked a pivotal year for our Company as we forged ahead with the vision of creating an exciting biotechnology company. With more than $13,000,000 in assets and less than 9,000,000 in outstanding shares, we are moving Spherix in the right direction.
We are excited after the successful IPO of our prior biotechnology investment. We're seeking to continue to leverage our collective experiences, as well as that track record, in the coming year. We are pleased how things are already off to a solid start with the proposed transformative acquisition of CBM BioPharma, Inc.
The CBM transaction, announced in October of last year, brings to Spherix exclusive drug development rights from world-renowned partners including Wake Forest Innovations and the University of Texas at Austin. Significant progress has already been made.
As part of our due diligence, Spherix funded a preclinical analysis of KPC34, one of the drugs exclusively licensed by CBM. In that preclinical analysis, we looked at the mechanism of action for KPC34 to identify other types of cancers that might respond well to KPC34. Specifically, we looked for cancers with target gene expression indicative of high levels of PLC and PKC mRNA. I am pleased to report that the analysis revealed that the following cancers: uveal melanoma, low grade glioma, acute myeloid leukemia and adrenocortical carcinoma have the gene profiles indicating that those tumor types could be responsive to KPC34 treatment. Other cancer types of interest that may also respond to KPC34 are: thyroid carcinoma, skin cutaneous melanoma, prostate adenocarcinoma, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, kidney chromophobe, colon adenocarcinoma (POLE), colon adenocarcinoma (MSS), and invasive breast cancer. As a result, this information indicates that KPC34 may have applications beyond the previously indicated acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and helps to show the potential value of this drug asset.
In addition, to further demonstrate the value of this asset, I am pleased to announce the release of a short video presentation, posted to our web site HERE, demonstrating in simple terms, the mechanism of action of KPC34, one of the two main compounds that form the cornerstone of the CBM acquisition. I encourage you to take a look at the video.
Beyond our internal efforts, in a December 2018 article written by the Chief Editor of Clinical Leader magazine, Clinical Leader discussed the ability of KPC34 to reverse hind limb paralysis in a mouse from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). We were pleased to receive such positive press coverage by outlets such as Clinical Leader magazine. This type of coverage helps spread the word in the scientific community about the potential for this asset. A link to that article is HERE, and I again encourage you to review it. I hope you can see why we continue to be excited about CBM's potential.
We have other holdings that also reported notable progress over the last year.
Our ride and transportation sharing platform investment, Mellow, held its preliminary launch in the Washington DC area in January of 2019. The company's site, www.borrowmellow.com is up and running and we encourage you to have a look. Mellow is an exciting startup company and we are proud to partner with their concept.
DatChat has continued to develop and advance the technology behind its platform. In addition to an interface redesign late last year, DatChat is close to releasing the in-app purchase of its video function and has made progress toward the issuance of their first patent. We continue to support its platform development and hope to see the new product rollout soon. As internet privacy continues to be a growing worldwide concern, we believe that DatChat is positioned to thrive and prosper.
On the personnel front, we added a technology Advisory Board Member, Dr. Rana Quraishi, Director of New Ventures, UM Ventures University of Maryland Baltimore. This addition to Spherix is notable, as Dr. Quraishi spent the majority of her career working in life science directed finance, investment and consulting organizations. We will continue working with Dr. Quraishi to identify other life science assets for Spherix to acquire that would complement our existing portfolio. Independently, Spherix is in discussions with other institutions about potential licensing opportunities.
We have been asked recently about our plans to dividend out portions of our interests in some of the assets mentioned above. We continue to be committed to that plan moving forward. However, restricted stock presents notable difficulties when it comes to distribution. We will work to dividend out portions of our investments, as we previously stated, working in coordination with all parties involved and in compliance with agreed upon terms and applicable securities law.
We are hard at work building a robust organization with a lucrative portfolio of assets that we hope will drive shareholder value. We bring a highly qualified and motivated team with a substantial track record of turning over "a lot of rocks" in pursuit of assets that offer the right risk/return profile for our investors.
We appreciate your support as we move forward with continued focus and conviction. I want to personally thank you for being a shareholder.
Sincerely,
Anthony Hayes
About Spherix
Spherix Incorporated is a technology development company committed to the fostering of innovative ideas. Spherix Incorporated was formed in 1967 as a scientific research company.
Our activities generally include the acquisition and development of technology through internal or external research and development. In addition, we seek to acquire existing rights to intellectual property through the acquisition of already issued patents and pending patent applications, both in the United States and abroad. We may alone, or in conjunction with others, develop products and processes associated with technology development and monetizing related intellectual property.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the SEC, not limited to Risk Factors relating to its patent business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Contact:
Investor Relations:
Hayden IR
Brett Maas, Managing Partner
Phone: (646) 536-7331
Email: brett@haydenir.com
www.haydenir.com
Spherix:
Phone: 212-745-1373
Email: investorrelations@spherix.com
www.spherix.com
SOURCE Spherix Incorporated
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