I had a lengthy conversation with spoke with Przybyl today. He obviously was limited with what he could disclose.
He confirmed his penchant for a low cost business model. This is the reason he is filling the position of Investor relations. It saves on salary and he is best positioned to answer the investor’s questions. Likewise the reason he reduced the authorized share total with the most recent R/S, was a cost saving measure.
He explained the reasons that ANI sought the merger with Biosante as they were laid out in the S-4. The cash and the near term value of Bio-t-gel . Teva is a very capable company especially with respect to marketing generics. He expects when Generics version of Androgel are finally approved the industry leaders should be Abbvie, Teva and Perrigo.
He explained that they gave no value to Elestrin, Pill Plus and the stakes in Ceregene, Cold Genesys because the return, if anything, is longer term. Though an argument could be made for value on these products, it does not fit into the low cost business model they would be pursuing. If they materialize into revenue generators, that is a bonus.
He did indicate that Libigel is very interesting but is still a distant proposition. He will eventually be examining Libigel in closer detail (HSDD, CV etc…) and see where they go from there. His goal is to partner with a larger pharmaceutical company and have the partner finance any additional trial(s) and regulatory approvals and co-market Libigel (50-50) if and when approved.
In the meantime his goal is to:
A) Release the financial results on Friday.
B) Grow the product pipeline
C) Seek accretive opportunities which will increase PPS.
He indicated that shareholders were expecting a conference call or the active selling of the company. He believes many of the questions will be answered in the Earning Report. As for going on tour to sell the company, he feels it is too early in the development of the formation of the merged company. He realizes he will have to accept interviews, but he feels it is more important to spend the time on aligning the business strategy and running the company. He believes over time the company’s actions will speak for themselves in selling the company to the broader market.
He feels that the company’s market cap has people viewing ANI as a micro cap company. His goal is to get us to small cap status ($300 million - $2 Billion market Cap) as soon as possible. He not concerned about the recent PPS trading as the markets start to realize the company is no longer a biotech and start doing comparative analysis with company’s such as IGI Laboratories, which is trading in the $65 million range and compare the financials, assets and business models, the share price will start to rise accordingly.
In reality he would like to spend the next year growing the company’s product portfolio and once he has one year of financial results as a merged company to back him he would feel more comfortable in attending conferences.
He also mentioned the value of the manufacturing facilities which create a revenue stream, by working with other companies with ANDA application which further helps diversify the company. A small biotech such as Biosante and Cell Genesys as proven, have difficulty in overcoming adverse clinical trial results as it negatively affects the ability to raise funding to carry on with research. With ANI the R&D and regulatory cost are all accounted for up front. It will be a set-back, but not fatal.
He indicated that he can’t guarantee that he will ever recover the full amount for Cell Genesys or Biosante investors, but that he feels ANI as the merged company is a position to go nowhere but up, once the market understands, the new company and he will do whatever he can to maximize ANI shareholder value. He stated if we want to average downward or sell and seek better opportunities it is up to us. But it is time to turn the page ANI is a new company and many will start to realize this on Friday.
He encouraged anyone with questions,to contact him. He was very approachable.
