OncBioMune Pharmaceuticals Inc (OTCMKTS:OBMP) has been an extremely interesting small-cap biotechnology stock to follow of late. The company is an emerging potential top-tier prostate cancer play in the making. But it hasn’t been much more than that – as if that isn’t enough. The company’s ProscaVax pipeline asset is moving toward a huge Phase II trial, which will go a long ways toward putting this company in the thick of the $7.1 billion prostate cancer treatment space. That said, if there was one thing we wanted to see added to the picture, it would be diversification of strategy with some form of more near-term revenues.
Right on time, OBMP management has made several moves in recent weeks to accomplish just exactly that. The company first announced the acquisition of Vitel Laboratorios, S.A. de C.V, which is expected to “transform OncBioMune into a revenue-generating international pharmaceutical company with a more diverse product line with a particularly deep reach throughout Mexico, Central and Latin America, and relationships across Europe and Asia.” The acquisition of Vitel includes two drugs it licenses and sells in Mexico, Bekunis for constipation and Cirkused for stress. That was followed by two other key moves that we will cover below. But first, for those new to the story, here is an overview of this interesting name.
OncBioMune Pharmaceuticals Inc (OTCMKTS:OBMP) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that develops cancer immunotherapy products. The company has proprietary rights to a breast and prostate patent vaccine; and a process for the growth of cancer cells and targeted chemotherapies. Its lead product is ProscaVax that is in the planning stage of a Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of prostate cancer.
The company also has a portfolio of targeted therapies. OncBioMune Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
We continue to believe that it makes sense to view this company as a potential takeover target by one of the larger players in the space who have shown a clear interest in development or acquisition of assets that offer potential for market share in the prostate cancer segment. The short list includes the likes of Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN), Inovio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:INO), Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation (NASDAQ:NYMX).
Eggs in the Basket
As noted above, OBMP management recently steered the ship toward the land of diversified segmentation of core strategy.
This is a big positive. It’s essential in the high-risk game of drugs and FDA reviews and real time data. Successful biotech stories are never built like a stool with one leg.
So, OBMP is moving fast in this new direction. The first move was its acquisition of Vitel. That put two sales streams on the table in the near term. But they weren’t done.
Company execs moved next to announce a non-binding term sheet with EOC Pharma Ltd., a U.S. subsidiary of leading Chinese specialty pharmaceutical company Eddingpharm (Taizhou) Co., Ltd.
According to the release, the Term Sheet sets forth guidelines for a 50/50 Joint Venture Agreement (“JVA”) for the purpose of development and commercialization of EOC Pharma products in 34 countries across México, Central and Latin America (“MALA”). More specifically, the Term Sheet identifies the clinical development of the potent oral VEGFR2/3 inhibitor Telatinib for the treatment of gastric cancer.
“This Term Sheet is a great example of the partners and licensing opportunities that are now available to us with the acquisition of Vitel,” commented Jonathan Head, Ph. D., Chief Executive Officer at OncBioMune. “Telatinib is a promising experimental drug that has the potential to provide a meaningful benefit to gastric cancer patients in great need across MALA. We are encouraged by the eagerness of EOC to work with us and optimistic that we can have a binding agreement in place in the near term.”
But they didn’t stop there either. Just this week, the company announced the signing of a non-binding term sheet with NYSE-listed Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA), the world’s largest generic medicines producer, with regards to Norepinefrine for the Mexican market. This registration can as well be used in other Central and Latin American countries and will be selected by own discretion.
According to the release, the term sheet confirms mutual interest and sets forth guidelines for OncBioMune to acquire the sanitary registration and intellectual property rights of Norepinefrine currently owned by Teva. Norepinefrine is approved in Mexico as indicated for the treatment of low blood pressure and heart failure.
This string of moves may go a long ways to shore up the explosive OBMP narrative. That said, one look at the chart shows a stock not exactly in need of a lot of confidence overhaul: shares are up nearly 200% so far in 2017. But the last month of action is a clear consolidation, suggestion the stock is looking for its next catalyst. The diversification story may be just that.
