CardioVascular BioTherapeutics (fka CVBT)

[walhall]

Turmoil at CVBT, Part 3: The Part-Time, Virtual Management Team

It’s time for a critical assessment of what’s really going on at CVBT, and for me it’s troubling. At first pass, in the last 90 days there’s been tremendous turnover in CVBT’s executive ranks (a Chief Medical Officer who stayed just a matter of weeks before leaving and then CVBT trying to quietly cover that up, a long-time President being pushed aside without a public word of explanation). At present time, one could justify the opinion that Cardiovascular Biotherapeutics (CVBT) has a credible management team. But with a little more scrutiny, one can see that it’s far less than meets the eye.

I’ll state my conclusions first: Cardiovascular Biotherapeutics management team is mostly a group of individuals who are part-timers, almost none of whom are in Dallas TX (thus making CVBT a virtual company), and most of whom are past or near retirement age. This is not the formula for success that I’m used to seeing in thriving, viable biotech companies. I’m not aware of any other biotech companies that have successfully run clinical trials with a part-time management team that is scattered across the country. What this suggests to me is that CVBT lacks sufficient funding, or else it would have a full-time management team all based in Dallas TX, putting all its people in one place with 100% of their attention focused exclusively on CVBT.

Let’s go one by one through the management team.

Calvin Wallen III is now the company’s CEO (although this was never announced). To the best of my knowledge, he is the only biotech industry CEO whose background is in the oil/gas industry. There must be synergies between the two industries I’m not familiar with. He’s also the only biotech industry CEO I’m aware of who does not have any sort of undergraduate or graduate college degree(s). While Mr. Wallen publicly implies he is an alumnus of Texas A&M, he acknowledged under oath in a CVBT court case that he never completed his undergraduate degree and thus is only a high school graduate. He is being sued for bankruptcy and other fraud by the U.S. Government in the form of the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee for Tauren Exploration, the oil/gas company he was running prior to becoming CEO of CVBT. The Bankruptcy Trustee alleges Calvin Wallen stole $14 million from Tauren, and committed fraud by submitting falsified documents to the Bankruptcy Court, among other transgressions. Did some of the allegedly stolen monies end up in CVBT? There's reason to believe so according to the Bankruptcy Trustee, but time will tell, and if it's true, this has seriously negative implications for CVBT assuming Mr. Wallen is convicted. The trial is scheduled for October 28, 2019. If you’re interested in learning more about this case, see the links to the court documents at the end of this posting.

Robert Schleizer is the CFO. However, CVBT is certainly a part-time gig for him, because Bob Schleizer’s LinkedIn profile indicates he is a “Certified Turnaround Professional,” and that he is the Managing Partner and Founder of BlackBriar Advisors LLC in Dallas TX, a turnaround management firm with 10 other professionals. CVBT is not listed on his LinkedIn profile nor in his biography at BlackBriar. How much time does Bob Schleizer actually spend working at CVBT? It does not appear anything close to full time. He does not list the biotech industry as an industry he has expertise in. He received his undergraduate degree from Arizona State University in 1977, which puts him at age 64.

Dr. Laurence R. Meyerson is the EVP of Research & Development. A long-time resident of the greater Chicago area according to White Pages, he appears to live in Evanston IL. However, perhaps he has relocated to Dallas TX and that information has not been properly reflected in publicly-searchable databases. Dr. Meyerson brings a lot of industry experience and has reportedly worked on many drugs over his long career. He obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Rosalind Franklin School of Medicine and the Sciences in IL in 1974, which was 45 years ago. Given that his likely age at the time of receiving his Ph.D. was between 26-30, that would put Dr. Meyerson currently at an age range between 71-75. He generously provides an annual $1,000 scholarship to students at his alma mater to underwrite travel to a conference where the student is presenting original data. He is the first person thus far on CVBT’s management team who actually seems to have actual industry experience.

Elvia Gustavson is the new Head of Regulatory Affairs. However, she is almost certainly a consultant and not a CVBT employee. Her LinkedIn indicates she lives in Orange County, CA, and is an “Independent Pharmaceuticals Professional.” She is listed on the website of Jeff Yuen and Associates, a regulatory consulting firm, as an employee. Unless she has failed to update her LinkedIn and Jeff Yuen and Associates has failed to update its website, Elvia Gustavson is not an employee of CVBT and not working on CVBT matters anything close to full-time. She received her B.S. from San Diego State University in 1978, which means she is approximately age 63.

Dr. Warren Sherman is the new Chief Medical Officer. A resident of New York City, he wears many hats and CVBT is just one of his gigs. He is also Chief Medical Officer of Black Beret Life Sciences, he’s listed as a Consulting Cardiologist at Okyanos Center For Regenerative Medicine in the Bahamas, he also indicates he’s an independent consultant, and he’s listed on the website for Leonhardt Ventures as a member of their team. My question is, how much time does Dr. Sherman actually spend on CVBT matters? It’s hard to imagine it’s a lot given all the other things he does. Dr. Sherman received his undergraduate degree from MIT in 1973, which means he is approximately 68.

QUESTION: Apart from Calvin Wallen and possibly Dr. Meyerson, does CVBT have ANY full-time members of its management team? Based on this information, the answer appears to be no.

Here are the links to the court records in the related Calvin Wallen bankruptcy and fraud cases:

Tauren Exploration, Inc. Liquidating Trust vs. Calvin Wallen III:
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/24021776/Tauren_Exploration,_Inc_Liquidating_Trust_v_Wallen,_III

Tauren Exploration, Inc. Liquidating Trust vs. Pandale Holdings, Inc. et. al:
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/24021775/Tauren_Exploration,_Inc_Liquidating_Trust_v_Pandale_Holdings,_Inc_et_al

Tauren Exploration, Inc. Liquidating Trust v. Fossil Operating, Inc. et al:
https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/24021777/Tauren_Exploration,_Inc_Liquidating_Trust_v_Fossil_Operating_Inc_et_al