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It's Yahoo! Need I say more?
The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy today. Check out the 8K they just filed. Ed Smith resigned as CEO and Michael Lewis and Brian Anderson as board members. http://www.investors.polymedix.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1341843-13-30&CIK=1341843
It's all over.
The new shares.
Today was supposedly the day the new shares start trading. I haven't even seen an initial pricing for them. Did it happen or what?
It reminds me of the real meaning of the WWII acronym SNAFU - "Situation Normal All F#&*ed Up". That's how it is with this company.
Funny, the fine print also says "The NASDAQ listing of PolyMedix, Inc. has been postponed. It will remain quoted on the OTCBB on Friday, March 22, 2013."
My email to the BOD:
I see that PolyMedix stock has now earned the dreaded "E" suffix that typically means the company has not met its public reporting obligations pursuant to Rule 6530. Is there no end to the drama? Can PolyMedix management ever get their act together and run the company in a businesslike manner? Stay tuned for the next adventure in small cap investing.
Mullet, I'm not talking about Poly getting P2b ABSSSI trials going, or even Oral Mucositis trials started. I'm saying it would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to take on additional research into treatments for CRE or other infectious diseases until they either find a suitable partner or start getting a lot more funding.
I keep seeing posts here and on Yahoo! about this or that disease becoming near-epidemic or developing resistance to traditional antibiotics. Since they are posted on Poly's forums, the conclusion most would make is that those are conditions ripe for Poly's "magic". While I agree that Poly's pipeline could likely cure many infectious diseases, the company just won't have the ability to do anything about them barring massive new funding or the government declaring an emergency (and providing... you guessed it, massive new funding).
I don't see PolyMedix being a factor in this for many years, if ever. They've had enough trouble just getting Brilacidin into P2b testing for ABSSSI and even after a RS and massive dilution will not likely have a hope to obtain funding to advance development of other drugs or even the same drug for different diseases anytime soon (if ever).
After digging around, I did find it on PolyMedix's website under SEC Filings in the Investors tab. http://www.investors.polymedix.com/sec.cfm
Hey, I'm still waiting for the proxy statement so I can read it (and vote) for myself. It seems everyone but me has received notification.
I doubt any other company would hire him as CEO. Personally, I believe he totally lost touch with reality - refusing to talk to investors, etc. Then Lisa, his buffer to the outside world, was let go. Then the salary cut. Likely, the BOD also demanded he negotiate even domestic rights on his precious Brilacidin.
With his entire world crumbling around him and his dreams of running "the next Amgen" quickly fading, Nic likely experienced some kind of breakdown.
Or perhaps this is a desperate last-ditch attempt to hook up with a big investor?
13D posted by Target Capital Management, LLC mirrors PolyMedix Shareholder Group Assessment?
This is an interesting read: http://secfilings.nasdaq.com/filingFrameset.asp?FileName=0001029574%2D12%2D000024%2Etxt&FilePath=%5C2012%5C11%5C20%5C&CoName=POLYMEDIX%2C+INC&FormType=SC+13D%2FA&RcvdDate=11%2F20%2F2012&pdf=
"Underperformance and Dilution
The underperformance of the Issuer's Common Shares over the past several years speaks for itself. In any comparison of the performance of the Common Shares of PolyMedix to either a composite of biotech stocks or a stock exchange composite would show large underperformance by the PolyMedix Common Shares compared to biotech stocks or the general market (see the five- year total return comparison set forth in the Issuer's Form 10- K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011). In 2012, the per share price further declined and plummeted to 6.666 cents per share on November 14, 2012.
Dilution of Common Shares has contributed to this underperformance. The number of outstanding Common Shares have almost doubled over the past three years. Given the Issuer's future cash needs, if cash is raised through issuance of more Common Shares based on the current depressed market price, the dilutive impact will further decrease shareholder value.
The Board Needs More Credibility with Shareholders and Investors.
Credibility has been an issue for several years. In Stephen A. Springer's April 27, 2009 letter to the Board of Directors, he stated:
"The Company's success is dependant on achieving credibility in the marketplace.. Inconsistent positions as to the Company's capital needs also undermine that credibility.
If the Company loses credibility and the marketplace perceives that there will be disruptions in the Company's achieving its business goals, the situation will create a "field day" for short sellers of the Company's stock. A depressed market for the Company's stock impairs the Company's ability to raise additional capital at a reasonable cost and greatly dilutes the holdings of current shareholders."
The Reporting Person believes that what was true in 2009 is still true in 2012. For example, on April 23, 2012, when the Issuer issued a Press Release announcing "Positive Results" from its Phase 2 Clinical Trial with PMX-30063, the stock price went in the opposite direction and declined from a per share price of approximately $1.25 to a per share price of approximately $.67 on April 24, 2012.
Board and Management Should Be Aligned with the Shareholders.
The Reporting Person believes that the Issuer's Board and management should be aligned with the best interests of the Shareholders, both in ownership and in their actions. According to the 2012 Proxy Statement, the total number of Common Shares currently owned by all Directors and Executive Officers as a Group (does not include options or warrants which have not been exercised) is 3,876,700 Common Shares out of 106,305,860 Common Shares outstanding. The combined ownership of Common Shares by all twelve directors and Executive Officers totals only 3.6%, and the only significant ownership of Common Shares by the directors and executive officers is held by Frank P. Slattery, Jr., the Issuer's Chairman of the Board (1,850,100 Common Shares are held by Mr. Slattery).
The lack of communications by the Board and management with shareholders and investors has reinforced the perception that the Board and management are not aligned with the shareholders. The quarterly conference calls with shareholders and investors have been discontinued. At the May 1, 2012 annual meeting, frustration was expressed by shareholders that the Board and management would not disclose their strategy and refused to discuss the status of its heparin reversal agent (one of the Company's two products in development). Less than ten days later, development of the heparin reversal agent was discontinued.
In July, 2012, the Chairman of the Board told the Reporting Person that, since there is a lawsuit against the Company, the Issuer's counsel has advised the Board to have no short term discussions with Shareholders - even though the Reporting Person has no connection to that lawsuit.
Plans and Proposals.
For the foregoing reasons, the Reporting Person believes that it is important that the Board takes steps to align itself with the interests of the Shareholders. The Reporting Person believes that open communications by the Board with the Reporting Person and other Shareholders is crucial to addressing the current difficulties facing the Issuer.
It is proposed that the Reporting Person communicate directly with Frank P. Slattery, Jr. The Reporting Person would like to reestablish a constructive relationship with Mr. Slattery and the Board. Not only is Mr. Slattery the Issuer's Chairman of the Board, but Mr. Slattery is the only director or executive officer who has significant ownership of Common Shares.
The Reporting Person has no set agenda for his communications with Mr. Slattery. Communications could cover issues such as the potential sale of PolyMedix (either an asset sale or a stock sale); a potential partnership with another biotech company in the development of its products; the need to prevent options from being issued at the current depressed price which would cause further dilution of the Common Shares; greater representation of shareholder interests on the Issuer's Board of Directors; or other matters of interest to the shareholders. It is intended that this communication be constructive and further the best interests of the shareholders."
I couldn't have said it better...
Some dilution? I posit there will be a lot more than "some".
Look at the math. The company is likely to need at least $20M to continue operations, finance the Brilacidin Phase 2 ABSSSI trials and the Phase 1 oral mucositis trials and continue paying its lavish salaries. Even at $.10/share and with a 1:6 RS, and even assuming the stock doesn't drop more pre/post split, they would need to sell 33M shares. After a 1:6 RS but before selling new shares, they would have 106M/6 = 17.6M shares outstanding.
So essentially, all existing shares would be diluted by a factor of almost 3. And that assumes the stock maintains the $.10/$.60 pre/post-split price. If it doesn't, they would likely have to try to sell even more shares.
I'm beginning to think they are considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It would freeze out the current shareholders and allow them to emerge with zero debt. I've been very tempted to average down myself at <$.10 but that thought keeps nagging at the back of my mind. I wouldn't put it past Nic to screw the current shareholders in return for the opportunity to continue his agenda.
The second scenario of an RS followed by equity sales is another reason I'm holding off on investing more. I believe any such announcement will drive the PPS down again, possibly to $.05 pre-split. That may be my opportunity.
It doesn't appear that Nic is willing to take that route. Although we all find his attitude frustrating, it is quite apparent that he still clings to his "next Amgen" idea, and apparently the BOD supports him.
Yes I am, for what good it is doing. mulletman doesn't like his real name to be known. That is a problem I have with the SG and I have stated that to him many times. I don't think the SG has a snowball's chance unless it comes out in the open, has a named spokesperson and elicits additional shareholders to join by publicly stating our objectives.
To continue in that vein, PolyMedix has way too many employees for a company of its size. According to Macro Axis, "Based on recorded statements PolyMedix Inc. is currently employing 28.0 people. This is much higher than that of sector, and significantly higher than that of Number of Employees industry, The Number of Employees for all stocks is over 1000% lower than the firm."
According to the same source, Poly has a 96% chance of going bankrupt.
I believe they have other options but the question is will they pursue them?
The first thing is the BOD needs to grow a pair of cajones and oust Nic and a few others. Nic said in the 10-Q "We will continue to manage our operations to minimize our cash outflows to extend cash runway." I assume he means cutting out the lavish trips to conferences and shows but they can do a lot more in that regard. Salary cuts and layoffs should be on the table.
There are a number of employees who do not appear to be pulling their weight, Steffen Helmling and Dawn Eringis among them. What is the point of having a "Vice President of Business Development" if you have no business to develop? What partnerships has he developed? They supposedly hired him because "During his tenure at Noxxon Pharma, Dr. Helmling developed and managed drug discovery partnerships with pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Roche, and Eli Lilly." Where are Poly's partnerships?
Likewise with a "Vice President of Commercialization and Scientific Affairs". Honestly, there are a number of unnecessary positions dragging down the company. All salaries should be renegotiated by the BOD, using the same basis they did when they gave out the raises last year. The Compensation Committee said that the new salaries were based on analysis of what is being paid at other companies of similar market cap. Obviously, that figure has dropped precipitously.
However, Nic should be the prime target. His leadership has been poor, at best. The BOD should demand he forgo salary for at least a year or resign and get out of the way, preferably the latter. They should hire someone with real business experience to run the company, not someone with pie-eyed dreams of "becoming the next Amgen".
They have options to pursue licensing agreements and co-development partnerships if they would be a bit more realistic in their goals but it appears they have stubbornly clung to the ideas that they can do it all in-house or can retain U.S. rights and only sell off rights to other areas of the world. In their present financial condition, I believe those are not options.
I'm not so sure equity financing is an option. First, they would have to declare (finally) a 1:6 RS, which would likely force the PPS down again - my guess is the stock would settle around $.30 post-RS. Then, they would have to try to sell at least 50M shares, probably more. I see little likelihood of that happening.
The PolyMedix Shareholder Group now represents over 10.1 million shares (or ~9.5% of the outstanding shares). Maybe we can force management to the table? If you're a shareholder and not already a member of the group, please contact mulletman99@yahoo.com for more info.
Whoop-de-doo! $161,000. Heck, Nic probably spends that much on lunches in 6 months.
The biggest problem I see is that the company is run by scientists. While they may know their science, they don't have a clue about markets and investors. Witness their latest news release. I believe the market has spoken with a collective "who cares" regarding its usefulness. The poster presentation didn't really show anything new regarding Brilacidin, or at least not enough to trigger a PPS increase.
We all know what the company needs to get investor interest but it appears that Nic and company think the science should be enough.
At this PPS level, dilution would have to be large for them to get much $$$. My guess is that at some point, they will do the 1:6 RS and sell some stock.
At $.32 pre-split PPS, a 1:6 RS will probably give each resulting share a PPS of ~$1.50 +/-. Outstanding shares would be 106M/6 = 17.6M. They would probably try to sell around 10-15M shares at that price, effectively diluting the stock ~60-85% and netting $15-20M in capital.
Contact Mullet at: mulletman99@yahoo.com. He'll send you news and get your contact info and share count.
I'm looking to add if the PPS reaches $.20.
What would you define as the west? I assume you would include Canada and the U.S. Would you also include Europe? Australia? Any former Soviet countries?
I agree that Bo has become guilty of the very thing he accuses Nic of. Darned if you do or if you don't. What to do - join a class action suit that has little chance of accomplishing anything for shareholders; especially not anytime soon, join a dictatorial Shareholder Committee or continue sending messages to Radnor that are ignored?
I also agree with what I believe most here and on Yahoo! have stated: that management should be spending every effort to find a partner and need to have their feet held to the fire in that regard. I think Bo's #1 Objective, which is the sale of the company, is the most wrong-headed of the bunch. My estimate of the sale price would be $.40 to $.50, which would leave most of us in the red, in my opinion.
gandalf, do the europeans have any problem with recognition of clinical trials held in former Soviet Bloc countries (Eastern Europe)? It appears that some here in the U.S. do.
What I find the most interesting about the lawsuit(s) is that these firms apparently haven't even done much digging into the real conflicts of interest here; namely the timing of the trial suspension announcement versus the publishing of the shareholder proxy and subsequent shareholders' meeting. The substantial raises in compensation, bonuses and stock options granted to Landekic, Smith and Jorgensen would likely have been voted down if the trial had been suspended first.
Folly, I disagree. A succesful lawsuit could bankrupt the company, leaving us shareholders holding the bag. In addition, I believe that the lawsuit itself presents a huge impediment to any partnership negotiations, again possibly bankrupting the company.
Do I want to see management changes? Certainly. I strongly believe that current management has shown both ineptitude and a disregard for shareholders but a class action lawsuit will probably do nothing to change that and the only ones who will get anything out of it is the lawyers.
I have been involved in a shareholder lawsuit before (vs. GE) and didn't get a dime from it.
Class Action Suit Against PolyMedix, Inc.
Shareholder rights firm Robbins Umeda LLP, announces that the firm commenced a class action lawsuit on July 2, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, on behalf of purchasers of PolyMedix, Inc. (PYMX) ("PolyMedix" or the "Company") shares between March 7, 2011 and May 10, 2012 (the "Class Period"). The action is against the Company and certain of the Company's executive officers for violations of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934.
PolyMedix is a clinical stage biotechnology Company that develops drugs for the treatment of serious acute care conditions. Throughout the Class Period, the Company had two experimental compounds in clinical trials, PMX-30063 and PMX-60056. One of these prospective drugs, PMX-60056, was a cardiovascular compound that was intended to reverse the activity of common blood clotting agents in order to avoid the risk of stroke.
The complaint alleges that beginning on March 7, 2011, the Company, along with its Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Vice President of Cardiovascular Clinical Development, issued a series of materially false and misleading statements to investors about PMX-60056's commercial viability, safety, and market potential that caused shares of PolyMedix to trade at artificially high prices. Specifically, it is alleged that officials at PolyMedix failed to disclose to investors that: (a) the Company's experimental compounds caused hypotension more often and at lower doses than acknowledged; (b) varying doses of the compound would not eliminate its adverse side effects on a patient's blood pressure; and (c) as a result, the development of the Company's drug pipeline and the business prospects of PolyMedix were at significant risk.
On May 10, 2012, PolyMedix issued a press release disclosing to investors for the time that the Company was halting patient enrollment in clinical trials for PMX-60056 "due to observations of reductions in blood pressure." When the true state of PMX-60056's clinical development and adverse side effects became public, shares of PolyMedix's common stock declined a staggering 29%, closing on May 11, 2012 at just $0.36 per share.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired PolyMedix stock during the Class Period and wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must act no later than August 31, 2012. To discuss your shareholder rights, please contact attorney Gregory E. Del Gaizo at 800-350-6003, via email at info@robbinsumeda.com, or via the shareholder information form.
Robbins Umeda LLP represents individual and institutional shareholders in derivative, direct, and class action lawsuits. The law firm's skilled litigation teams include former federal prosecutors, former defense counsel from top multinational corporate law firms, and career shareholder rights attorneys. Robbins Umeda LLP has helped its clients realize more than $1 billion of value for themselves and the companies in which they have invested. For more information, please go to http://www.robbinsumeda.com.
I understand gfp, but I would assume that any proceeds from a 60056 partnership would have to be used for 60056. That would still leave them short of funds for 30063 trials.
Obviously, I meant a partnership for 30063. I assume that a partnership on 60056 wouldn't net them any funds for 30063 future development. My assumption is that any funds received from a 60056 partner would have to be used for 60056 development.
I have to wonder if MidCap Financial would have loaned them the money in the first place if they had known 60056 development was going to be suspended. If you're a pessimist, you could conclude that Nic was not forthcoming when he arranged the loan in the first place. He had to have known the extent of the problems by early April.
I do agree that Poly's options for financing future operations continue to shrink. Do you think they'll finally recognize that a partnership is the best way to proceed or will they insist on limiting that choice to ex-U.S.?
The companies that I am personally familiar with were very successful in doing this.
I think a RS will cut the volume; especially if they fail to get listed. After all, after a 1:6 RS, there would only be 1/6 the total number of shares (that is, until they issue more in the inevitable equity financing...).
Local Application of 30063 appears to work for Oral Mucositis. I wonder if any thought has been given by the company to test local application for ABSSSI and/or "flesh eating bacteria" infections? I would think that if it works for the one, it would work for the other.
I think that the first time I heard him actually say that was during his speech at the BIO CEO & Investor Conference on Feb 13–14, 2012 in New York, though I believe he has mentioned Amgen before.
I think that one of the more galling things is that he likely knew 60056 had serious problems by then, yet he still persisted in making that megalomaniacal statement. The Amgen idea would be nice from an investor standpoint but first the company has to make it to, say, Alexion or Cubist levels.
- You have to crawl before you can walk and you have to walk before you can run...
You have to wonder if that misconception is/was shared by other uninformed investors. It just strengthens my belief that Poly management needs to take a serious look at the message they are sending (or rather, not sending) by their lack of clarifying communications.