Vaxil Bio has offloaded its CEO and is considering a fundamental shakeup of the business to free up enough cash to get a colorectal cancer drug into the clinic.
Pleased with the preclinical results of the asset, dubbed P-Esbp-DOX, in a study in mice back in 2021, the Israeli biotech has contracted an “experienced third-party vendor” that has scaled-up production of the product.
“However, significant additional investment will be required to complete the necessary [chemistry, manufacturing and controls] work to enable human clinical testing,” the company said in a post-market release August 2.
In a quest for the extra cash, Vaxil is “exploring new sources of capital and potential partners to support continued development of this asset.”
Perhaps more seriously for the company’s future, the biotech’s board is also “actively exploring strategic options for maximizing shareholder value from Vaxil’s assets that may or may not be a continuation of the business in its current form.”
The company clearly isn’t messing around. The first measure in this new mission to “reduce costs and preserve cash” is to jettison CEO Yuval Avnir, Ph.D. Avnir first stepped into the CEO role almost exactly two years ago in an interim capacity in response to the resignation of his predecessor David Goren. Before that, Avnir spent a year as head of R&D at the company.
“The board of directors wishes to thank Dr. Avnir for his contribution to the company during his tenure and wishes him success in his endeavors,” Vaxil said. Stepping into Avnir’s shoes will be the biotech’s current chair and CFO Gadi Levin.
Avnir isn’t the only member of Vaxil’s senior team that is feeling the pinch. In order to “further preserve the company’s working capital,” certain officers and directors have agreed to swap part of their cash-based compensation for stock options.
Vaxil is focused on using signal peptide domains on certain proteins to develop targeted therapies against both cancer targets and infectious disease pathogens. P-Esbp-DOX, for example, combines HPMA polymer, an E-selectin-targeting peptide and the chemotherapy doxorubicin, which is marketed by Pfizer as Adriamycin. A study in mice in 2021 showed that the drug prolonged survival in a mouse model of aggressive liver metastasis of colorectal cancer.
The biotech already has one candidate in the clinic in the form of ImMucin, which has completed a phase 1/2 trial in multiple myeloma. The so-called cancer vaccine has also shown “promising preliminary results” against both COVID-19 and tuberculosis, according to the company.