A year ago PixarBio reverse merged its way onto the public markets, promising to raise tens of millions in cash as it led the way on development of a pain therapy that could replace morphine. The company confidently predicted an approval and market launch in 2018, boasting of technology that came out of the lab of MIT professor Bob Langer.
And its been downhill ever since.
In a mid-June SEC filing, the biotech says it was forced to give up its leased property in Massachusetts, including its headquarters in Medford, laid off more than half of its staff as it bled cash and grappled with an SEC fraud investigation, denying any wrongdoing. Its staff has been reduced from 27 to 10 in the first 6 months of this year.
In the meantime, its shares $PXRB an OTC stock are trading at around 29 cents.
Frank Reynolds
PixarBio, helmed by CEO Frank Reynolds, says it got into a scrap with their landlord on the Medford lease after a late payment. So now, in place of that monthly $23,341 rent payment, they are paying $3,003 for a new, smaller office in Salem, NH.
Then theres the SEC probe:
Pursuant to SEC subpoenas related to the investigation of the Company, several people have given testimony and we have produced substantial documents to the SEC. We have cooperated with the SEC. The Company and all of the directors and/or officers deny all allegations of wrongdoing. Although there can be no assurance that such investigation shall be resolved successfully, the Company is optimistic that the investigation shall be resolved successfully.
In the meantime, Reynolds and his family have been lending money to the company in exchange for promissory notes totaling more than $250,000. Thats substantially more than the company had in the bank when it filed its 8-K.
Our cash on hand on April 30, 2017 was $71,800. Our current average monthly cash burn rate is approximately $450,000.
Back in January Reynolds announced that the company hadwithdrawnits offer to buy InVivo Therapeutics which he once ran for reasons related to management credibility and competence, corporate governance and IP control. It linked to a 4-page letter outlining a list of grievances against InVivo, which had earliersued him.
UPDATE 4:13pm In response to this article, Reynolds sent this email to Endpoints News:
It appears that you were influenced by false statements in an erroneous article in yesterdays Boston Business Journal by Max Stendahl. You have the same erroneous message that PixarBio left Massachusetts and were somehow heading downhill. My team in Cambridge was shocked to read it. We remain in Cambridge, MA and on target for FDA approval in 2019.
PixarBio remains in Cambridge, MA where we have labs, offices and a vivarium. I have been in Cambridge since the end of my formal education at MIT and Harvard in 2005-2006. We continue to raise cash from our very loyal investors.
I founded PixarBio in Salem NH in August 2013, because Im disabled after being paralyzed in 1992. I need to work from home so we have our HQ at my home. As a disabled worker I never miss a day of work but it requires a wide range of adaptive technologies to keep me working 18-20 hour days, 7 days per week. The best place for me to optimize my work is in Salem NH so we moved back to where we founded the company.
Were certainly not running anywhere. I invent and patent my own Neuro-technologies, then fund them myself.
The BBJ reporter Max Stendahl spoke with me and I confirmed with Max twice that PixarBio remains in Cambridge, MA yet Max ignored the truth, so he clearly has an agenda against PixarBio. Max wrote that Ive been accused of Fraud and that is a false statement and Max was not wise to write such a bold false statement. As a CEO/CFO/CSO Im a straight shooter in Pharma so I may ruffle feathers out-inventing all of my competitors but I always get the job done.
In July 2016 PixarBio announced our Ribbon cutting on our offices in Fort Lee NJ, so we can be close to our manufacturing partner. We announced Jan 2, 2017 that we outsourced manufacturing to the global manufacturing leader for drug delivery systems so we were cutting people and overhead. Closing of Medford should not surprise anyone as it was widely reported by me in the press. I invested over $10,000,000.00 of my own cash into PixarBio and although not in humans yet, we have over 40 pre-clinical studies where our pain treatment treats pain with every dose.
We have researched and developed a truly revolutionary pain treatment called NeuroRelease. We simply take a pill Carbamazepine that is FDA approved for PAIN, and we reformulate it for local depo injection to treat PAIN. As a 505(B)(2) we have less than one year clinical studies.
We have submitted a seminal paper to a peer review journals this week for publishing this fall 2017. Our researchers on the paper include our scientific advisory board members from Sloan-Kettering and NY Presbyterian- Cornell Weill.
PixarBios NeuroRelease remains the only non-opiate engaging that FDA that can replace opiates like morphine in hospitals and remove addiction from the clinic. This week our only competitor Pacira Pharmaceuticals reported flat sales quarter over quarter, and they have reported toxic problems with their drug Exparel.
Weve enjoyed the engagement with the SEC. I have an excellent SEC compliance education and SEC compliance experience so weve all learned a lot about future SEC compliance to ensure well avoid future reviews. We have never been accused of Fraud as Max stated, so we were shocked to read it but well wrap up the SEC review and move forward toward FDA approval.
In regards to InVivo litigation, Im 11-0 against InVivo Therapeutics in court since 2013, they will never escape justice. I invented the NeuroScaffold for spinal cord injury, it was not invented at MIT and Ive filed over 140 patents covering my Neurological treatments such as the NeuroScaffold for spinal cord injury and NeuroRelease pain treatment drugs. Ive invented in my own Cambridge, MA labs since 2005 not at MIT.
Follow this link:
Running out of cash and kicked out of its HQ by the landlord, PixarBio hunkers down and slashes staff - Endpoints News
- Hungarian Spinal Cord Injury Patient - Stem Cell Treatment Experience - May 7th, 2011 [May 7th, 2011]
- Stem cell treatment for Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)-Osama - May 8th, 2011 [May 8th, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Injury Patient after Stem Cell Treatment - Juan Carlos Murillo - May 10th, 2011 [May 10th, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Injury patient 10 years after injury after Stem Cell Treatment - May 10th, 2011 [May 10th, 2011]
- Rap Toward a Cure for Spinal Cord Injury - May 11th, 2011 [May 11th, 2011]
- Christopher "Kit" Bond - Spinal Cord Injury Stem Cell Patient - May 20th, 2011 [May 20th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Treatment - Spinal Cord Injury (2) - May 21st, 2011 [May 21st, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Injury-After Treatment, Pt was completely paralyzed (2) - May 22nd, 2011 [May 22nd, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Injury-After Treatment, Pt was completely paralyzed (1) - May 23rd, 2011 [May 23rd, 2011]
- Dogs recover following new treatment for spinal cord injury - June 2nd, 2011 [June 2nd, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Injury Rehabiliation Success Story - June 3rd, 2011 [June 3rd, 2011]
- Stem Cells for Spinal Cord Injury: Community Outreach San Diego 2011 - Trish Stressman - June 7th, 2011 [June 7th, 2011]
- Stroke Client Gains Strength and Mobility in North Palm Beach Florida - June 9th, 2011 [June 9th, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Injury Chicago Rehabilitation Lokomat - June 10th, 2011 [June 10th, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Injury Treatment With Stem Cells - June 11th, 2011 [June 11th, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Injury Patient after Stem Cell Treatment - Wesley Hixen - June 12th, 2011 [June 12th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury - Injured Airline Pilot Flies Again - June 13th, 2011 [June 13th, 2011]
- David Chen: How would stem-cell therapies work in the treatment of spinal cord injuries? - June 17th, 2011 [June 17th, 2011]
- William Rader MD - Paralyzed Spinal Cord Injury Patient Walks Again - June 29th, 2011 [June 29th, 2011]
- The Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Team - July 4th, 2011 [July 4th, 2011]
- Introduction to the Bioness H200 Hand Rehabilitation System - July 14th, 2011 [July 14th, 2011]
- Organ repair using own stem cells -- brain, heart - Future Health keynote speaker - July 15th, 2011 [July 15th, 2011]
- 2011 Shriners Ride for Kids, Salt Lake City Utah. - July 17th, 2011 [July 17th, 2011]
- Degenerative Disc Disease: C5-C6 c6-C7 Treatment - July 18th, 2011 [July 18th, 2011]
- Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan's 60 Anniversary TV Commercial - July 18th, 2011 [July 18th, 2011]
- California Spinal Cord Injury Attorney: Obtaining damages for lifetime care. - July 19th, 2011 [July 19th, 2011]
- Physical and Mental Adjustments After a Spinal Cord Injury - July 19th, 2011 [July 19th, 2011]
- Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation - July 28th, 2011 [July 28th, 2011]
- SCI Treatment Center at the Claremont Club - July 30th, 2011 [July 30th, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Inury Patient at XCell-Center- M. Hasan - August 5th, 2011 [August 5th, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Inury Patient at XCell-Center- K. Potts - August 6th, 2011 [August 6th, 2011]
- Magee Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation and Toyota 100 Cars for Good - August 13th, 2011 [August 13th, 2011]
- SCI_Celine_French_ifting_her_arms.wmv - September 1st, 2011 [September 1st, 2011]
- New Treatment May Help Paralyzed Patients Move Again By Dr.Zaghloul ahmed - September 1st, 2011 [September 1st, 2011]
- Claire Marsh - Spinal Cord Injury Part One - September 6th, 2011 [September 6th, 2011]
- Coping with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries - September 10th, 2011 [September 10th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Treatment - Spinal Cord Injury (3) - September 15th, 2011 [September 15th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Treatment - Spinal Cord Injury (1) - September 20th, 2011 [September 20th, 2011]
- Stem cell treatment by Adiva Health Care India after Spinal Cord Injury - September 22nd, 2011 [September 22nd, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Injury Documentary: You Will Never Walk Again, Part 1 - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- Claire Marsh Returns - Spinal Cord Injury Patient - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]
- Spinal Cord Injury: Raising awareness about research and treatment for spinal cord injury - September 26th, 2011 [September 26th, 2011]
- Walking after Spinal Cord injury and Stem Cells - September 27th, 2011 [September 27th, 2011]
- New Treatments for Spinal Cord Injuries - October 10th, 2011 [October 10th, 2011]
- Claire Marsh - Spinal Cord Injury Part Two - Video - October 18th, 2011 [October 18th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Treatment for Spinal Cord Injury - Video - November 2nd, 2011 [November 2nd, 2011]
- Stem Cells - Treatment for Spinal Cord Injury - Video - November 2nd, 2011 [November 2nd, 2011]
- (Film Trailer) - The Spinal Cord Journey: Stem Cell Therapy Stories of Recovery - Video - November 27th, 2011 [November 27th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Treatment for T-6 Spinal Cord Injury - Video - December 7th, 2011 [December 7th, 2011]
- What is Project Walk Atlanta - Video - December 13th, 2011 [December 13th, 2011]
- Stem Cells Treatment for Spinal Cord Injuries, Successfully Results, Stem Therapy - Video - December 28th, 2011 [December 28th, 2011]
- Stem Cell Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury, India Mumbai - Video - January 6th, 2012 [January 6th, 2012]
- "April Crave", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - January 10th, 2012 [January 10th, 2012]
- "Lori Hammond", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - January 23rd, 2012 [January 23rd, 2012]
- "Chad C.""spinal cord Injury treatment" "spinal cord injury" "spinal cord injury recovery" - Video - January 23rd, 2012 [January 23rd, 2012]
- "Hugo Rodovalho", "Client Spotlight Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - January 27th, 2012 [January 27th, 2012]
- "Cecilia V.", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - January 27th, 2012 [January 27th, 2012]
- "Roy R.", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - January 27th, 2012 [January 27th, 2012]
- "Angela", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - January 27th, 2012 [January 27th, 2012]
- "Joey's Story", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - January 27th, 2012 [January 27th, 2012]
- "Spinal Cord Injury", "A Story Of One" - Video - January 27th, 2012 [January 27th, 2012]
- Spinal Cord Injuries - The Healing Center Project! - Video - January 28th, 2012 [January 28th, 2012]
- "Crystal H.", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - February 3rd, 2012 [February 3rd, 2012]
- "Dave D.", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - February 5th, 2012 [February 5th, 2012]
- "Brook", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - February 5th, 2012 [February 5th, 2012]
- "Ashley Vargas", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - February 6th, 2012 [February 6th, 2012]
- "Nathan Bayer", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - February 8th, 2012 [February 8th, 2012]
- "Annette Ross", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - February 8th, 2012 [February 8th, 2012]
- "Joe Guintu", "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - February 8th, 2012 [February 8th, 2012]
- "Trevor Comeau,"Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - February 9th, 2012 [February 9th, 2012]
- "Kyle Eade, "Project Walk Spinal Cord Injury Recovery" - Video - February 11th, 2012 [February 11th, 2012]
- Velomedix Receives IDE Approval to Evaluate the Use of Rapid Therapeutic Hypothermia in the Management of AMI Patients - February 14th, 2012 [February 14th, 2012]
- Neuralstem Announces Closing of $5.2-Million Registered Direct Offering - February 14th, 2012 [February 14th, 2012]
- Chamber May Open Window for Treating Spine - February 15th, 2012 [February 15th, 2012]
- InVivo Therapeutics’ CEO Frank Reynolds Scheduled to Appear on Fox News First and San Antonio Living - February 17th, 2012 [February 17th, 2012]
- High doses of 'load' slows loss of bone in spinal cord injury - February 17th, 2012 [February 17th, 2012]
- InVivo Therapeutics Announces Pricing of Public Offering of Common Stock - February 17th, 2012 [February 17th, 2012]
- High Doses of Load Slows Bone Loss in Spinal Cord Injury - February 21st, 2012 [February 21st, 2012]
- InVivo Therapeutics Announces Full Exercise of Over-Allotment Option - February 22nd, 2012 [February 22nd, 2012]
- InVivo Therapeutics Announces Net $18.1M In Offering - February 22nd, 2012 [February 22nd, 2012]