Ed's Thread

[Ed Monton]

Investors see value in PharmaGap. Await cancer test results.


By Armando Duke

(AXcess News) Houston - Investors were lining up in PharmaGap (TSX-V: GAP; OTC: PHRGF.PK) over the past several weeks in advance of testing results of its drug compound PhG-alpha-1 for the treatment of cancer which is in preclinical development. Tests are being conducted both in Canada and the US.

Ottawa-based PharmaGap announced in early May 2009 that the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda Maryland was conducting tumor cell panel tests on 60 human cancer cell lines. Additional testing on the effect of PhG-alpha-1 on cancer cell growth rate, mobility and invasion characteristics, using a panel of nine ovarian cancer cell lines is also being conducted at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), which was announced the day before the NCI tests. Of the OHRI cell lines being tested, two are also included in the 60 cell line panel used in the NCI tests.

Robert McInnis, President of PharmaGap, had revealed in that May announcement that the Company had contracted with CS Bio of Menlo Park California to produce its cancer drug, PhG-alpha-1, a key step in meeting FDA Health Canada guidelines in approving drugs for human testing. McInnis was quoted in that release as saying, "We are also very pleased to have developed a relationship with CS Bio as a commercial partner for larger scale drug production going forward."

PharmaGap was featured in a syndicated AXcess News story on May 17, having announced later that day the completion of an $860,000 private placement. In that news it was noted that PharmaGap was one of only five companies Canada's National Research Council (NRC) had invested in, a practice AXcess News criticized the Obama administration over for not considering similar programs as part of its healthcare reform plan.

The following week, PharmaGap announced a second round of financing with NRC to the tune of $215,000, placing the government-backed National Research Council's stake in the biotechnology company at 3.2 percent.

At the time of that announcement, McInnis was quoted as saying, "We are pleased that the NRC recognizes the value potential in our Company, and appreciate its continued support as a valued partner."