CytoDyn posted a net loss of $25.7 million for its 2016 fiscal year that ended May 31, but the Vancouver-based biotechnology company says it has its eyes on the long haul as it works toward a “powerful” antibody to combat HIV.
“The company has not generated revenue to date and will not generate product revenue in the foreseeable future,” according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday. “The company expects to continue to incur operating losses as it proceeds with clinical trials with respect to PRO 140 and continue to advance it through the product development and regulatory process.”
PRO 140, CytoDyn’s sole focus, is what the company has called a “game-changing” HIV therapy.
“We believe the PRO 140 antibody shows promise as a powerful anti-viral agent while not being a chemically synthesized drug, which means fewer side effects, lower toxicity and less frequent dosing requirements, as compared to daily drug therapies currently in use for the treatment of HIV,” reads the SEC filing.
The treatment is being studied in four trials and will enter a fifth soon as CytoDyn works toward FDA approval. The company will continue raising capital, such as the $33 million it took in earlier this year, to fund operations, according to the filing.
The company in a July investor presentation said the U.S. market size for HIV therapies is $15 billion. HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is the blood- and sexually transmitted disease that is the precursor to AIDS.
CytoDyn also announced this week it would be holding its annual shareholder meeting at 9 a.m. Aug. 24 at the Hilton Vancouver Washington. CytoDyn’s seven-member board proposes increasing its number of shares from 250 million to 350 million.
At the same time, the company’s board will ask shareholders for permission to eventually reduce the number of shares with a reverse stock split in the next year.
“Reducing the number of outstanding shares of common stock through the reverse stock split is intended, absent other factors, to increase the per share market price of common stock,” reads the SEC filing.
That would help the company qualify for a national stock exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, which in turn could “help support and maintain stock liquidity and company recognition for its stockholders.”
CytoDyn is currently traded on the OTCQB market and ended Wednesday’s trading at $1.03. It has been as high as $1.57 and as low as $0.64 in the past year.
The company raised its profile earlier this year as CEO Nader Pourhassan appeared on “The Dr. Oz Show” with Charlie Sheen, the HIV-positive actor who said he was considering undergoing CytoDyn’s PRO 140 treatment.
