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Wouldn't it be something if our executive team went out and bought yesterday? Their options are so underwater that, for all intents and purposes, they've drowned!
I wonder what Visium and vanguard are doing? They don't easily throw away their money- so I wonder if they're reducing their positions. Now that's a pat-on-the-back for Pascoe and crew. Alienate the few institutions that have ANY interest in the company!
One might think that Pascoe and the board would be slurping up shares at these depressed prices. I wonder why they aren't? Certainly 10,000 or 15,000 shares wouldn't make dent in the remuneration WE give these folks. Seeing the board, as a whole, go purchase 100,000+ shares might be the only action that gives investors the hope that something will come of all this.
Granted, most biotechs are getting whacked right now, but at least they had some higher place to fall from- we were already in the basement!
I'd like to know how many physicians have had a sales rep in their office and how many scripts have been written. That shouldn't be top secret information that the partners won't divulge.
CEO Pascoe had better make a powerful presentation at the upcoming conference- and I mean a current status that tells us how sales are going- not just a pretty PowerPoint with no 'actuals' behind it. The next CC better convince us that our board knows what they are doing, or the next annual meeting will be very ugly. (You know, where everyone in the audience holds more shares than the people we pay to run the company...)
Your very welcome. We're all in this together because we believe in the science and the story. let's see if Catalyst can get a fire going...
On a follow-up email, I had mentioned many of the suggestions that are floated here. I also said that I never want to see an 8 page glossy mailer in my mailbox (as in the pump-and-dump kind) and Dave Collins agreed:
Please pass on any names/suggestions so we can bolster our distribution list and hold the hands of as many holders as possible.
It takes a village! Now I'm heading home!
Regards,
David
NEVER an 8 page glossy mailer!
David C. Collins | Catalyst Global – Capital Markets Counsel
104 Fifth Avenue, 6th Floor | New York, NY 10011
212.924.9800 o | 917.304.3564 m | dcollins@catalyst-ir.com | david.c.collins10 Skype
So these guys are readily available to listen to us- and hopefully catch the ear of Pascoe and crew to pass those ideas on.
In any event, Collins was in his office after 8PM when I was contacting him- so we know he knows how to put in a real work day.
Gang- earlier today I mentioned that I had sent an email to Steve Martin. He must have gotten it since I received back this reply:
Hi David,
I spoke with the CEO and CFO a few minutes ago and we are not aware of anything behind the share price decline. We do not have any knowledge of any major sellers nor do we know any adverse events to account for the decline. We will be working to get the Company's story out to a broader audience to help stem the downward pressure the last few months - building on the institutional orientation of Burns McClellan.
Would be happy to speak with you or other investors and answer any questions you might have. We really have no news at this point and are reluctant to make such an announcement as you suggest in your final sentence - at least at this point.
I'll add you to our distribution list and please call me if you have any questions.
Regards,
David Collins
David C. Collins | Catalyst Global – Capital Markets Counsel
104 Fifth Avenue, 6th Floor | New York, NY 10011
212.924.9800 o | 917.304.3564 m | dcollins@catalyst-ir.com | david.c.collins10 Skype
There you have it. Looks nasty but may well be nothing.
A relative of mine sits on the state supreme court. I'm not saying this person would take the case, but I am saying we'll have access to some of the best litigators if we need to go after the board or execs for issuing materially misleading information.
That said, I don't believe they have. So far, the only thing Pascoe is guilty of is 'promising' too much, too soon. And every one of us knows that getting a new drug off the ground is a tedious and slow affair. And with the EU's drug advertising restrictions, it's an even slower process. We have to wait for the next CC to see how things are going. (Although I do think Pascoe should issue some comment.)
Just about every biotech I follow had a nasty day today. That's the way it goes sometimes.
Just noticed two job openings on the Apricus site for a 'regulatory affairs associate' and a 'clinical program manager.'
Hadn't seen these before. I wonder why the current staff can't handle these tasks? I suppose the new guys on the BoD may have asked for the extra hands...
I think Aprilov is right. As much as we all are sick to our stomachs about the price right now, we have to believe that these giant pharmaceutical companies did their DD into the science behind the product. It makes no sense for any of them to have spent a dime if they thought there wasn't a very good likelihood of actually selling the stuff.
It would be helpful if Pascoe lead from in front and got out and said something positive about the company's immediate prospects. In any event, we do need to offer up some shareholder proposals that can be voted on. But if those 'dark shares' stay unvoted, I'm not sure what we can accomplish.
I just sent this note to Steve martin:
Steve,
The stock is in freefall. Is there something going on that hasn’t been announced to the general public? I think that Rich should make some sort of announcement that order-flow is continuing and progress is being made on all fronts- or something to that effect, if it’s true. As a large shareholder, I expect all members of the board and executive team to be completely transparent in their dealings with the shareholders. The silence from the exec team is not acceptable. We need some news or at least an announcement that there is nothing going on in the company that is responsible for the decline.
He's never replied to me before, so I don't see why he would now- but at least he'll know we're all watching them closely.
Maybe some of you should also send him a note.
I think you're absolutely right, SB.
If the numbers don't add up, and a single review over a period of months does seem odd, then we need to ask ourselves what Pascoe meant when the slide stated "Commercial product re-orders placed by Takeda and Sandoz due to high demand."
If Pascoe is making this up, he's certainly breached his duties as the CEO and will be open for legal action against him. This would guarantee he would never get a CEO position again (or any other in the industry), which makes be think he isn't making this up and that we just need to hang tight until we reach a critical mass of users. Maybe the numbers of patients being seen is just lower than we hoped for. Remember that the users are just a subset of a subset of urologists' patients.
This is scary as shareholders capitulate- but until we see more data at the next CC, we have to trust that Pascoe and crew are doing their jobs.
Then why does everyone continue to vote for the board? If the board is incompetent, everyone must vote 'No' every time one of them is up for another term. If I recall this year's vote, most of the shares weren't voted at all. Who the heck is holding all these shares and not voting them?
Lastly, if the board is incompetent, (by bringing in guys who should have been put out to pasture or are just collecting a fat paycheck for sitting for a couple meetings but accomplishing nothing), then maybe we need to bring in one of those 'ambulance-chasing' law firms that go after questionable management.
I think it comes down to a simple question: Is Pascoe up to the job? If he fails here, why would any other company hire him? What has he truly accomplished? Has he added value, in any way, to our company? Why would another company want him on their Board? Are all these little biotechs just breeding grounds for leeches?
Maybe we need a shareholder proposal for the next annual meeting that states: "In order to ensure alignment of stockholder and officer goals, we propose that all officers, board members, and executives of the company make annual open market buys of common stock equal to 10% of their total annual compensation."
If the execs and officers don't believe enough in the company for anything more than a paycheck, then we don't want them and certainly don't need them. But we need those 'dark shares' to vote on a proposal like this- otherwise it will get defeated.
There's no reason why the stock should be closing in on historic lows when our product is now on the market. It's obvious that our PR firm is also incompetent and needs to be terminated. Can anyone tell me what Angeli at Burns McClennon has accomplished?
I think there's a dozen people on this board that know more about the company and are more active in promoting it than this pitiful excuse of an IR company.
I agree with Andy and Starbuck-
Using a 6HP tiller for 8 hours without hearing protection can cause it, also. You wonder why, if we could put men on the freaking moon, Briggs & Stratton can't invent a small engine muffler that really works!
I haven't read the actual study, but it seems that the study is getting increasing traction all over the place. I'm not sure if that would stop some older guys ("I've lived this long and nothing's happened..."), but younger guys, especially the outdoors types, probably should consider the long-term effects.
All this news, I would hope, would be enough to get Actavis and Mylan off their behinds and start moving forward with Vitaros.
It would be nice if there was a mechanism by which we could find out how many scripts have been written in Britain. I've seen a couple sites that seemed to have that info, but you needed to prove you were a British medical professional to see it. Anyone in this room fit that description?
You got that right!! Nice to know that ENDO is on the hunt....
ENDO made an unsolicited $2.2 billion offer for Auxilium- saying AUXL's drugs were a 'perfect fit' for them. AUXL's main revenue generator is testosterone products- which are coming under much scrutiny right now.
Maybe our own APRI might be an ENDO target- if we can see some real sales numbers.
Link:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-16/endo-bids-2-2-billion-for-men-s-health-drugmaker-auxilium.html
People will give more import to a drug 'created' by a major pharmaceutical company than by some no-name entity. Maybe in a year or two, when Vitaros is a household word throughout Europe, the partners will feel confident enough to mention, "Under license from Apricus Biosciences..." But until then, if they want to plaster their own names all over the product, that's fine with me. They're putting their own reputations on the line, so I think they know exactly what they're doing.
I have to agree with SB. Femprox, while not the reason I first got in, was to be the icing on the cake. Without that icing, the cake itself had better be pretty spectacular.
There's simply no way the Vitaros numbers at the next CC can be bad. Pascoe told us Takeda ordered new shipments prior to their anticipated re-order schedule and other partners have since launched.
Every day that goes by, European physicians are seeing tens of thousands of patients. A subset of those will want to try Vitaros. The numbers will start out small, obviously, but time is on our side. And if our inside-man is correct about prolonged use giving even better results, then we may really have the next best thing to the PDE5i pills, and that bodes well for us.
Nobody likes to see an investment languish, so let's just say it's gestating while it's working towards it's critical mass.
I agree Limp. Going in this was just a Vitaros play. Granted, it's taken years longer than any of us thought, but we're finally there. There is big market for this but it will take time to develop. There's the PDE5i pills, with all their associated issues, the alprostadil torture applications (needles, suppositories- ugh!), and then there's the new kid on the block with an easy to use alternative.
We need to be patient as the partners roll it out and their sales people get to all the physicians in Europe. It would be great if Mylan would get off its ass and move along, but as others have said, the money talks- so as sales ramp up across the pond, Mylan will take note.
It's a shame that folks are tossing in the towel here, because it's a better buy now than it ever has been in the past. But 'dead' money is never fun to watch, so I understand. On the other hand, if this is a 5 bagger in 2 years, it will have paid its way. I'm holding.
Even if Femprox IS a dud, at least Vitaros is rolling out over Europe. The RayVa MAY be the ace in the hole as time goes forward. We need to have patience (and heaven knows it seems like APRI shareholders invented the word) for the rollouts to take traction. I'd like to see the company actively push the Nexact into some everyday products- to supercharge them, if you will. Since lotion and ointment companies aren't beating a path to our door, I'd hope that our 'Business Development' team would be making calls to THEIR doors.
The company finally has a couple things going for it, but it just seems like the execution is haphazard.
It would be helpful if a few of the professional analysts that supposedly follow our company would chime in and add/revise their ratings of the stock. Are they going to wait until half the planet has Vitaros available before deciding to update their price targets? Germany is a big deal and they should know it.
yeah, that seems to happen quite often.... You get the feeling that the Board must playing with Monopoly money by the size of the grants. I guess you really need to dangle a very big carrot in front of these guys to get the big hitters.
http://irdirect.net/filings/viewer/index/1017491/000101749114000086/
link to new presentation.
Sandford Smith's 85,000 granted options are already in the money. To give him such a signing bonus, the board must believe he has 'the right stuff' to really move our products along. Everything points to a very promising future.
Holy Price Appreciation, Batman! We had an after hours trade at 2.28!
The new board member, who seems to be a heavyweight, and the confluence of recent events, bodes well for our little company over the next year.
As for the strange heavy trading several days ago, I still find it hard to understand why anyone would depart our gang of investors at this time. Never in the history of the company has it had more positives working for it. Never has its future looked better. I mean, if it was a great buy at 2.10, it should have been a freaking steal at 1.70, right? But some folks were acting like a black swan event is going to happen tomorrow, which I don't believe will occur.
I think the size of the 'beat' will wake up a lot of folks on Wall Street, and yes, Zacks will re-rank it, again. A pat on the back to all of us who held through the wee hours last week when it looked like we'd be sitting on a $1.50 stock and kudos to those who stood up and bought at those great prices.
The plane is on the runway (after years of taxiing around, sometimes getting lost), we've completed the pre-flight checklist, the engines are revving, we're cleared for take-off and are just minutes away from releasing the brakes. I think we will all enjoy this oft-delayed flight.
Smith worked with Wierenga at Cytokinetics.
That never hurts, but I know plenty of skinny people with Type 1 that came out of thin air.
Hey, at least the Foundation didn't refuse APRI's involvement! They way I see it, all these tiny building blocks will eventually amount to something that funds will want to invest in. Now if they could just see if our secret lotion is effective for poor blood circulation for diabetes. Here's a clip from the Mayo Clinic website:
Diabetes complications include nerve damage and poor blood circulation. These problems make the feet vulnerable to skin sores (ulcers) that can worsen quickly and are difficult to treat. Proper diabetes management and careful foot care can help prevent foot ulcers.
When foot ulcers do develop, it's important to get prompt care. A nonhealing ulcer that causes severe damage to tissues and bone may require surgical removal (amputation) of a toe, foot or part of a leg.
With diabetes being a sickeningly rapidly growing disease in this country and the western world, I'd think Pascoe and Morton would be working with the American Diabetes Association to get our product into some sort of study ASAP. That's where the biggest contribution to society will be made, and that's when Novo would take an interest in APRI.
And poor circulation in the hands and feet also exists in MS.
In any event, although things are developing at a snail's pace from our perspective, they are developing.
The interesting thing about that selling is that there were buyers, obviously, or the stock would be a $1.20 right now. Institutions/funds won't buy on an up day so as to not influence the price. Who's to say that some smart money wasn't initiating or enlarging their positions while the pps was in free-fall? I think we'll see new institutional ownership at the next quarter's reports.
With all the SEC filings by Actavis, I thought I'd shoot them a quick email seeing what was going on with the Chilcott trial of Vitaros (which was discontinued without much of a reason).
The Actavis reply:
Hi - We have no new information to disclose about alprostadil cream at this time.
So much for shareholder relations!
I don't think we should be holding our breath waiting for some great news....
Here's a link to an 8-K that Actavis just released concerning its North American Brands portfolio.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=65778&p=irol-sec
While it doesn't mention Vitaros, it does show a pretty robust line-up for women's health and the absence of a 'Men's Health' line-up is glaring. MAYBE Actavis is planning for Vitaros to be the flagship of the men's health line-up. Could be...
Chilcott stopped their study without too much of a reason given- and then they got taken over by Actavis. Actavis can just sit on Vitaros (since they own it in the USA) for as long as they want, probably until they see it becoming widespread in Europe, assuming that actually happens.
I really don't see any reason why Actavis would partner/sell back (whatever) any part of their deal with Apricus as they hold all the cards. And the lack of an American market could easily be the reason for such lackluster institutional support. I'm hoping that with some decent European numbers, European funds and institutions will take a closer look at the company and decide to get involved.
That said, these nickel and dime announcements will eventually add up to something that hits the bottom line. Today's prices are probably great values- if you have the cojones to jump in! (Yeah, that 'catching a falling knife' admonition comes to mind...)
I wonder if folks at Takeda and Sandoz are talking to each other: "Hey, the stuff is really selling, you should get on board."
I'm sure the marketing reps from both companies sometimes bump into each other at doctors' offices and talk shop.
Could the market maker (was it UBS? Don't recall) might be accumulating at these dirt cheap prices for its own account? If it goes to $2.50 or $3.00 by year's end, some junior market flow kid will make quite an impression on his boss.
The news flash:
Apricus Biosciences Announces the Launch of Its Topical Treatment for Erectile Dysfunction Vitaros(R) in Sweden by Sandoz
Apricus Continues With Its Series of Ex-US Vitaros(R) Launches Expected Throughout 2014
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 4, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apricus Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:APRI), a pharmaceutical company focusing on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for men's and women's health, today announced the launch of Vitaros®, Apricus' novel topical on-demand treatment for erectile dysfunction ("ED"), by the Sandoz Division of the Novartis Group of Companies ("Sandoz"), in Sweden.
Richard Pascoe, Chief Executive Officer of Apricus, commented, "We are pleased to announce the launch of Vitaros in Sweden, the first of the eleven territories to be commercialized by Sandoz, and considered an important and robust market for their European sales force. We continue to look forward to additional launches by our commercial partners expected throughout 2014."
According to the most recent estimates, the European Erectile Dysfunction Market in 2013 was above $1.3 billion, and analyst estimates for ex-US Vitaros sale are approximately $300 million at peak.
In December 2013, Apricus expanded its exclusive license agreement with Hexal AG, an affiliate within the Sandoz Division of the Novartis Group of Companies ("Sandoz"), for the commercialization of Vitaros in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland (the "Expanded Territory") in addition to Germany. Under the terms of the agreement, Apricus is eligible to receive up to approximately $63 million from Sandoz in upfront, regulatory, launch and sales milestone payments for Vitaros® in Germany and the Expanded Territory, which includes up to $4.5 million in new upfront and launch milestone compensation for the Expanded Territory. The successful launch of the product in Sweden results in a $500,000 launch milestone payment to Apricus.
Apricus continues to receive multiple commercial product orders of Vitaros from its partners, and is currently manufacturing multiple product batches through its contract manufacturer in Canada to support launches in Europe. The commercialization of Vitaros has been fully licensed to these partners, with Apricus positioned to earn tiered double-digit royalties and more than $200 million in potential milestone payments.
Rick, while I haven't 'bet the farm,' I have tied up most of the 'back 40' on this! While it obviously will take longer than most of us originally ever believed, I think the final destination will make the wait profitable, if we can hold out.
Maybe, just maybe, Pascoe has decided to keep the thunder for the quarterly conference call. No reason to let out any good news in dribs and drabs.
We should be expecting some sort of quantification on the Vitaros sales, possibly even some ballpark projections for the rest of the year. Somebody knows how many scripts have been filled.
He should have some more definition on the other partners' launches.
There should be some solid news on the FemProx, and maybe he'll even tell us what Angeli is really doing for our company! ("They didn't choose us, we chose them." What in heck does that mean? Are they working pro bono?)
Maybe he'll spend a few minutes to tell us what Morton and Wierenga have accomplished since they arrived.
When all is said and done, I believe Pascoe doesn't enjoy looking foolish. Hopefully he'll be honest with his shareholders and give us an accurate 'state of the company' address at the CC.
That's true. But at least they're still keeping it alive by mentioning it.
From the Recordati half-year report:
COMPANY DEVELOPMENT NEWS
In February an exclusive license agreement was entered into with Apricus Biosciences Inc., a pharmaceutical
company based in San Diego, U.S.A., for the marketing and sales of Vitaros® (alprostadil), an innovative topical
product for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, in certain W. European countries including, among others,
Spain, EU member countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine and the Commonwealth of
Independent States (C.I.S.), Turkey and certain African countries. Vitaros® is approved for the treatment of erectile
dysfunction by a number of European health authorities and by Health Canada. Vitaros® is a topically-applied
cream formulation of alprostadil, a vasodilator, which directly increases blood flow to the penis, causing an
erection. Alprostadil is an alternative to the PDE-5 inhibitors for difficult to treat patients and Vitaros® offers a
patient-friendly form versus other alprostadil dosage forms.
At 30 June 2014 the net financial position shows a net debt of € 211.0 million compared to net debt of € 261.0
million at 31 December 2013. During the period a residual amount of € 2.7 million was paid for the acquisition of
the Spanish company Casen Fleet, € 1.8 million were paid up-front to Apricus for the Vitaros® license agreement,
an initial payment of € 4.3 million was made for the acquisition of a further 23% of the share capital of Opalia
Pharma S.A. and dividends were distributed for a total of € 22.3 million.
And here's the link:
http://www.recordati.com/~/media/Files/R/Recordati-V2/investors/reports/2014/2014-07-29ir.pdf
Or maybe an index card pinned to the 'Community Info' bulletin board in your local Wal-mart!