Citius Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: $CTXR): Late-Stage Assets, Strategic Mergers & Upcoming Catalysts
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00:00All right, mic check, one, two, three, here we go.
00:06Welcome Benzinga Nation.
00:07Today, we're joined in the studio by Leonard Mazur, who is the CEO and founder of Sidious
00:12Pharmaceuticals.
00:13We're here to discuss the company's value proposition, especially in light of the recent
00:17market attention and the upcoming catalyst.
00:19We'll dive into some specific aspects of these developments, but first, let's get a broader
00:23understanding of the company and the strategic direction.
00:26Leonard, welcome to the show.
00:28Thank you very much.
00:29I appreciate you taking the time for this interview.
00:31So let me give you an overview of the company.
00:35First of all, the first thing I want to say about the company is we, the founder, myself
00:41and the other co-founder of the company, Myron Olupiak, we have our own money invested in
00:46the company.
00:47So we've invested, I've put in $22.5 million and Myron has invested directly $4 million.
00:54That's direct, no stock options, nothing like that.
00:57So we are, our interests are totally aligned with the shareholders of the company.
01:03We're a biopharma company.
01:04We have very late stage, more than late stage.
01:06We have one drug that's about to be approved, Lymphir.
01:10We have what's known as a PDUFA date or an approval date on the drug of August 13th.
01:16We're very excited about this.
01:18We're going to be launching the drug in the fourth quarter.
01:22And so consequently, we will go from no revenues to revenues.
01:27So we'll be a revenue producing company, but within the fourth quarter.
01:30Our other asset is Menoloc, which is an antibiotic lock solution for salvaging or sterilizing
01:38infected catheters.
01:39That one is completed a phase three trial.
01:42We had extremely positive statistics on it, a P value of 0.0006, which is extremely positive.
01:53And we are preparing all the data for a meeting with the FDA to be able to secure what our
02:00next steps are with the agency on moving ahead with Menoloc.
02:05You mentioned Lymphir, which I'll get to here in a minute, but you also, you know, your
02:08company also had some impressive late stage assets that have already been through the
02:12phase three with the FDA.
02:14Give me a quick insight on that, but their value to the market as well.
02:18OK, so with Lymphir, our plan is Lymphir is in a subsidiary called Sidious Oncology, Inc.
02:27That subsidiary is will be acquired shortly by 10x cane.
02:34It's a it's a NASDAQ listed SPAC.
02:37They've put a valuation on the asset of six hundred and seventy five million dollars.
02:42They'll be issuing sixty seven point five million shares to us that will start to trade.
02:48The trading will begin before the drug is approved.
02:51So we're right on right around the corner from that as well.
02:55Those sixty seven point five million shares will be issued to us.
02:59The company will own somewhere around 90 percent or thereabouts of the shares, depending on
03:08who stays in and who doesn't stay in in that SPAC.
03:12The reason we're doing it that way is because, number one, we get a NASDAQ listing by having
03:18the SPAC acquire the the asset.
03:22And at the same time, it'll enable us to do something that will prevent dilution for the
03:28Sidious Pharma shareholders.
03:29So the launch of Lymphir is going to take some funds and those funds will be raised
03:37through this through Sidious Oncology Inc and not Sidious Pharmaceuticals Inc.
03:42There'll be a benefit to the shareholders from that transaction.
03:47Well, that's exciting stuff.
03:48Anytime I hear the words benefit to the shareholders, I know our viewers love hearing that as well.
03:53Can you give me a little bit more insight on the shares that Sidious will be receiving
03:57in the transactions?
03:58I know you kind of briefly went over that.
03:59Sure. So those shares will be will start trading.
04:06The benefit to the shareholders is that since we will be the approximately 90 percent owners
04:14of those shares, the financials will get consolidated within the reporting of Sidious
04:23Pharmaceuticals, as well, as I said, we'll have revenues.
04:27We believe that during the course of the first year on the market that will be profitable.
04:35So all that will benefit the Sidious shareholders as well.
04:39So there's a real benefit to Sidious Pharmaceuticals shareholders.
04:45Love that. I know you mentioned that you'll kind of have that date whenever you're ready
04:48to announce it. We can talk about that more.
04:50Are there any other upcoming catalysts that we should know about?
04:53So, yes. So basically, Menlo Lock is is, as I said, we're assembling all the data now
05:01for the meeting with the FDA, and hopefully we'll have we'll have positive announcements
05:06come out of that meeting. But I can't predict that at this moment.
05:09But that's a catalyst coming up.
05:11The launch for sure is the launch of Lemphir is is a very positive catalyst for all of us.
05:20We have we've been looking at this market, this cancer market for for Lemphir,
05:25which is for cutaneous T cell lymphoma.
05:27We've been looking at it for a good, good amount of time.
05:30We've identified where all the treaters are in the disease.
05:34We've identified where all the territories are going to be.
05:37We're working with a company called Eversana that's provided us with a lot of data.
05:41We know everything there is to know about our competitors.
05:45And the fact is that we'll be additive to the market once we're launched.
05:50We're not going to be taking market share away from anyone because of the way these
05:54these drugs are used by oncologists.
05:57They go from one to the next. There's no order.
05:59There's only two really two other main principal competitors in the market or for Lemphir.
06:05So all of it adds up to something really positive.
06:09The pricing on the drug is three hundred thousand dollars for about a six week course of therapy.
06:15Wow. You also have the most fascinating part of what you kind of mentioned here today is the fact that you have two phase three
06:21technologies with major markets and upcoming catalysts and less than a month out is what I'm hearing.
06:26Right. So so everybody should also know that the the market potential market size for starting with Menoloc,
06:35will be once it's approved, will be the one only one of its kind on the market.
06:41And as a result, we believe the market potential is about two billion dollars, roughly half here, half in the United States.
06:49Lemphir, that's again, it's a smaller market.
06:51There are only three thousand patients throughout the United States, but the market potential there is somewhere around three hundred to four
06:58hundred million and will be, as I said, additive to the market.
07:02Well, looking forward to hearing about those milestones as you achieve them.
07:06Thank you so much, Leonard, for your time here today.
07:07I appreciate you sharing insights on Citi's pharmaceuticals and, of course, the future direction that it's headed.
07:12I appreciate it. Thank you very much for taking the time.
07:14Appreciate it.