Statera Biopharma (Nasdaq: STAB) (the "Company"), a leading biopharmaceutical company creating next-generation immune therapies that focus on immune restoration and homeostasis, announced today that the Company entered into a non-binding term sheet with respect to a strategic agreement with Immune Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC-PINK: IMUN), a drug development and commercialization company, to sell Statera's rights to naltrexone and met-enkephalin. The transaction is contingent upon negotiation of a definitive agreement and satisfaction of a number of closing conditions, including a contingency on Immune Therapeutics financing.
"The agreement with Immune will enable us to strengthen our financial position with a transaction that has the potential to produce significant non-dilutive cashflow to fund our other programs. For instance, Statera is beginning to chart a new course in the immunotherapy field by pursuing molecules that act on Toll-like Receptor pathways similar to Naltrexone," said Michael K. Handley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Statera Biopharma. "It also will help advance our new product candidates for treatment of a variety of immune-related diseases that have no cure."
Under the anticipated terms of the agreement, Statera will receive an initial $2 million upfront payment and 5% of the issued and outstanding stock of Immune Therapeutics. Additionally, Statera will receive payments for achievement of revenue-based milestones, new indications and royalties, Crohn's disease and COVID-19 indications and regulatory approvals, as well as any other payments from Immune Therapeutics in exchange for Statera's rights to any product containing low-dose naltrexone as an active ingredient. Potential indication payments will include asthma, multiple sclerosis, HIV and chemotherapy. In aggregate, this transaction has the ability to generate over $400 million in non-dilutive payments to Statera.
"Statera's naltrexone assets will be a great addition to our immune-modulation products and immunotherapy technologies," said Kevin Phelps, CEO, Immune Therapeutics. "We believe that they can significantly enhance our ability to combat chronic, lifeâ?threatening diseases and bring hope to millions of patients and their families."
