Ziopharm Oncology Addresses Rumors and Stock Volatility, Affirms 2018 Guidance
February 06 2018 - 8:55AM
Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZIOP) today responded to unfounded
rumors regarding possible financing plans of the Company.
Management states that it knows of no developments at the Company
that would be the cause of the recent volatility and decline in the
stock price.
David M. Mauney, M.D., interim Chief Operating
Officer, stated, “While we always opportunistically assess market
dynamics to create meaningful value for our shareholders, we want
to address these negative rumors head on. Ziopharm has had no
discussions and has no plans to undertake an underwritten stock
offering at this time.”
He added, “Ziopharm’s Board and management
continue to enthusiastically engage several potential corporate and
financial partners to advance the Company’s business and clinical
programs.”
In an effort to protect the company and its
shareholders, management is actively monitoring circulating rumors
and will take all necessary and appropriate action available to the
company including working closely with regulators as
appropriate.
As of Dec. 31, 2017, Ziopharm had $70.9 million
of unrestricted cash resources and $34.6 million from pre-payment
for programs to be conducted by the Company at MD Anderson Cancer
Center. The company reaffirms its guidance for all activities in
2018, and states that its current resources will be sufficient to
fund its currently planned operations into the fourth quarter of
2018.
About Ziopharm Oncology,
Inc.
Ziopharm Oncology is a Boston-based
biotechnology company focused on development of next generation
immunotherapies utilizing gene- and cell-based therapies to treat
patients with cancer. In partnership with Precigen Inc., a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Intrexon Corporation (NYSE:XON),
Ziopharm is leveraging two platform technologies to deliver safe,
effective and scalable cell- and viral-based therapies for the
treatment of multiple cancer types: Controlled IL-12 and Sleeping
Beauty for genetically modifying T cells. The Company’s lead asset,
Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex, has demonstrated in clinical trials
the potential to control interleukin-12 leading to an infiltration
of T cells that fight brain cancer. The Company also is advancing
therapies using Sleeping Beauty, a non-viral approach to
genetically modify chimeric antigen receptor (CAR+) and T-cell
receptor (TCR+) T cells, to target specific antigens in blood
cancers and neoantigens solid tumors. This non-viral gene transfer
platform enables the company’s point-of-care technology, a
shortened manufacturing process which can potentially be developed
as a decentralized manufacturing process implemented at hospital
treatment centers. These programs are being advanced in
collaboration with Precigen and selectively with MD Anderson Cancer
Center, the National Cancer Institute and Merck KGaA, Darmstadt,
Germany.
Forward-Looking Safe-Harbor Statement
This press release contains certain
forward-looking information about ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. that is
intended to be covered by the safe harbor for "forward-looking
statements" provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements
that are not historical facts, and in some cases can be identified
by terms such as "may," "will," "could," "expects," "plans,"
"anticipates," and "believes." These statements include, but are
not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s financing and
other strategic plans, as well as the progress and timing of the
development of the Company's research and development programs. All
of such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties,
many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the
control of the Company, that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include,
but are not limited to: changes in the Company’s financial
condition and cash needs, funding or other strategic opportunities
that become available to the Company, the Company's ability to
finance its operations and business initiatives and obtain funding
for such activities; whether chimeric antigen receptor T cell
(CAR-T) approaches, Ad-RTS-hIL-12, TCR and NK cell-based therapies,
or any of other product candidates will advance further in the
preclinical research or clinical trial process and whether and
when, if at all, they will receive final approval from the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory
agencies and for which indications; whether chimeric antigen
receptor T cell (CAR-T) approaches, Ad-RTS-hIL-12, TCR and NK
cell-based therapies, and the Company's other therapeutic products
it develops will be successfully marketed if approved; the strength
and enforceability of the Company's intellectual property rights;
competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies;
as well as other risk factors contained in the Company's periodic
and interim reports filed from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including but not limited to, the risks and
uncertainties set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of the
Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 2017 and subsequent reports that the Company may file
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements
that speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company does not
undertake any obligation to revise and disseminate forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date
hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of or non-occurrence of any
events.
Contact:David ConnollyZIOPHARM
Oncology617-502-1881dconnolly@ziopharm.com
Intrexon (NASDAQ:XON)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Intrexon (NASDAQ:XON)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024