NEW YORK, April 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Spherix
Incorporated, (NASDAQ: SPEX) a technology development company
committed to the fostering of innovative ideas, today issued a
letter to shareholders:
Dear Fellow Shareholder,
One of the most challenging tasks as CEO is taking the vision of
the Board and transferring that into meaningful value for our
shareholders. However, 2018 marked a pivotal year for our
Company as we forged ahead with the vision of creating an exciting
biotechnology company. With more than $13,000,000 in assets and less than 9,000,000 in
outstanding shares, we are moving Spherix in the right
direction.
We are excited after the successful IPO of our prior
biotechnology investment. We're seeking to continue to
leverage our collective experiences, as well as that track record,
in the coming year. We are pleased how things are already off
to a solid start with the proposed transformative acquisition of
CBM BioPharma, Inc.
The CBM transaction, announced in October of last year, brings
to Spherix exclusive drug development rights from world-renowned
partners including Wake Forest Innovations and the University of Texas at Austin. Significant
progress has already been made.
As part of our due diligence, Spherix funded a preclinical
analysis of KPC34, one of the drugs exclusively licensed by
CBM. In that preclinical analysis, we looked at the mechanism
of action for KPC34 to identify other types of cancers that might
respond well to KPC34. Specifically, we looked for cancers
with target gene expression indicative of high levels of PLC and
PKC mRNA. I am pleased to report that the analysis revealed that
the following cancers: uveal melanoma, low grade glioma, acute
myeloid leukemia and adrenocortical carcinoma have the gene
profiles indicating that those tumor types could be responsive to
KPC34 treatment. Other cancer types of interest that may also
respond to KPC34 are: thyroid carcinoma, skin cutaneous
melanoma, prostate adenocarcinoma, pancreatic adenocarcinoma,
kidney chromophobe, colon adenocarcinoma (POLE), colon
adenocarcinoma (MSS), and invasive breast cancer. As a
result, this information indicates that KPC34 may have applications
beyond the previously indicated acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute
lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and helps to show the potential value
of this drug asset.
In addition, to further demonstrate the value of this asset, I
am pleased to announce the release of a short video presentation,
posted to our web site HERE, demonstrating in simple terms, the
mechanism of action of KPC34, one of the two main compounds that
form the cornerstone of the CBM acquisition. I encourage you
to take a look at the video.
Beyond our internal efforts, in a December 2018 article written by the Chief Editor
of Clinical Leader magazine, Clinical Leader discussed the ability
of KPC34 to reverse hind limb paralysis in a mouse from Acute
Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). We were pleased to receive such
positive press coverage by outlets such as Clinical Leader
magazine. This type of coverage helps spread the word in the
scientific community about the potential for this asset. A
link to that article is HERE, and I again encourage you to review
it. I hope you can see why we continue to be excited about
CBM's potential.
We have other holdings that also reported notable progress over
the last year.
Our ride and transportation sharing platform investment, Mellow,
held its preliminary launch in the Washington DC area in January of 2019.
The company's site, www.borrowmellow.com is up and running and we
encourage you to have a look. Mellow is an exciting startup
company and we are proud to partner with their concept.
DatChat has continued to develop and advance the technology
behind its platform. In addition to an interface redesign
late last year, DatChat is close to releasing the in-app purchase
of its video function and has made progress toward the issuance of
their first patent. We continue to support its platform
development and hope to see the new product rollout soon. As
internet privacy continues to be a growing worldwide concern, we
believe that DatChat is positioned to thrive and prosper.
On the personnel front, we added a technology Advisory Board
Member, Dr. Rana Quraishi, Director
of New Ventures, UM Ventures University of
Maryland Baltimore. This addition to Spherix is
notable, as Dr. Quraishi spent the majority of her career working
in life science directed finance, investment and consulting
organizations. We will continue working with Dr.
Quraishi to identify other life science assets for Spherix to
acquire that would complement our existing portfolio.
Independently, Spherix is in discussions with other institutions
about potential licensing opportunities.
We have been asked recently about our plans to dividend out
portions of our interests in some of the assets mentioned
above. We continue to be committed to that plan moving
forward. However, restricted stock presents notable
difficulties when it comes to distribution. We will work to
dividend out portions of our investments, as we previously stated,
working in coordination with all parties involved and in compliance
with agreed upon terms and applicable securities law.
We are hard at work building a robust organization with a
lucrative portfolio of assets that we hope will drive shareholder
value. We bring a highly qualified and motivated team with a
substantial track record of turning over "a lot of rocks" in
pursuit of assets that offer the right risk/return profile for our
investors.
We appreciate your support as we move forward with continued
focus and conviction. I want to personally thank you for being a
shareholder.
Sincerely,
Anthony Hayes
About Spherix
Spherix Incorporated is a technology
development company committed to the fostering of innovative ideas.
Spherix Incorporated was formed in 1967 as a scientific research
company.
Our activities generally include the acquisition and development of
technology through internal or external research and development.
In addition, we seek to acquire existing rights to intellectual
property through the acquisition of already issued patents and
pending patent applications, both in the
United States and abroad. We may alone, or in conjunction
with others, develop products and processes associated with
technology development and monetizing related intellectual
property.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this
press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may,"
"might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan,"
"intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent,
belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements.
While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are
reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such
forward-looking statements, which are based on information
available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking
statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are
subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without
limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the SEC,
not limited to Risk Factors relating to its patent business
contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially
different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update
or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Contact:
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Investor
Relations:
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Hayden IR
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Brett Maas, Managing
Partner
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Phone: (646)
536-7331
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Email:
brett@haydenir.com
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www.haydenir.com
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Spherix:
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Phone:
212-745-1373
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Email:
investorrelations@spherix.com
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www.spherix.com
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SOURCE Spherix Incorporated