PETACH TIKVA, Israel,
September 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/
--
OWC Pharma (OTCQB: OWCP), a developer of cannabinoid-based
therapies targeting a variety of different medical conditions and
disorders, today issued a letter to shareholders.
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Letter from the Chairman,
To our Shareholders,
Following my recent appointment as Chairman at OWC Pharma
(OTCQB: OWCP), it is my pleasure to introduce myself to you and to
initiate a new tradition of biannual shareholder update
letters.
On the personal front, I am a biologist by training with a D.
Phil. Degree from Oxford University in
Cell Biology and Immunology. I have been involved in diagnostics,
pharmaceutical and biotechnology (medical and agricultural)
companies at CEO level since 1989 and I have run both private and
public companies in this sector in Brazil, China, England, Israel and the
United States. My roles in these companies have included
operational and strategic elements. I currently serve as CEO of
FuturaGene Ltd., an agricultural biotech company. I have been the
manager of the company since its inception, leading it through a
series of private fundings, a reverse merge on the AIM Exchange of
the London Stock Market, a successful secondary offering in
London and the ultimate sale of
the company to Suzano Pulp and Paper in Brazil in a cash transaction which valued the
company at US $100 million. As CEO of
FuturaGene, I successfully obtained the first ever regulatory
approval to commercially deploy a genetically modified commercial
tree species. In addition to my role as Chairman at OWC Pharma, I
also currently serve as Chairman at Foamix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:
FOMX), a specialty dermatology company, inter alia. In
my early years as an Executive Director at Foamix, I was
responsible for European Business Development, and in this role, I
cemented an out-licensing deal with Bayer Pharmaceuticals for the
development and commercialization of a topical drug for Rosacea.
Marketing of this drug was initiated in late 2015 after FDA
approval and today yields multi-million dollar annual royalties to
Foamix. In my role as a Director and Chairman at Foamix, I have
been actively involved in Foamix's IPO and two follow-on offerings
on NADAQ, which in aggregate raised approximately $170 million. I believe that the experience I
have acquired in these endeavors will be a strong factor in
assisting in the development of OWC Pharma.
It has also been my pleasure to work closely in the past with
Mr. Mordechai Bignitz, our CEO. I
believe that our complementary skills and our proven ability to
work successfully together will play a very positive role in
helping take our company to new levels of achievement.
Research and Development
Our company is focusing on developing high level cannabis-based
products for dealing with unmet medical needs in specific fields.
In this respect, we have progressed in a number of areas over the
last 8 months:
- During this period, we completed a pre-clinical efficacy study
in psoriasis with unique, and what we believe may be breakthrough
results; we previously reported an up to 70% reduction in
biological markers directly related to this disease;
- We have received the first ever Institutional Review
Board (IRB) approval to conduct a safety study for a cannabis-based
topical cream with more than 3% THC and we are actively conducting
a safety study (FDA Phase 1 equivalent) in one of the biggest
academic hospitals in Israel. We
will update the public with material developments in this area as
they occur.
- We filed for intellectual property (IP) protection for various
delivery methods to treat different diseases, a very rare approach
in the medical marijuana industry; the attainment of IP protection
could represent a significant asset for our company;
- We have completed the development of an orally disintegrating
tablet, an important new delivery form;
- Our topical cream for Psoriasis is market ready
- We reported on status in our Multiple Myeloma program and we
will continue to report on any material progress in that
connection
Our research activities are led by Dr. Yehuda Baruch. Dr. Baruch served as Head of the
Israeli Ministry of Health's Medical Marijuana Program from 2003
through 2013 where he spearheaded the efforts on regulation,
chaired the indication committee, secured Helsinki Approvals for
medical research, and managed regulation of patient licensing and
dosage. He has extensive experience in researching medical
cannabis, most notably for its effect on PTSD. Dr. Baruch is a
globally acknowledged expert in the field of medical marijuana. His
contributions and expertise have been and will continue to be a
major factor in our development as one of the leaders in this field
and provide strong scientific basis to all our endeavors. As
Chairman, it has been my privilege to work with Dr. Baruch in
advancing our company.
Note to our Shareholders: Further to the above report, we
will, in general, provide broad guidance on our development
timetables, but we will do this with due caution as the course of
research and development is, by nature, uncertain - it is difficult
to put a precise timeline on scientific studies. We will not
provide responses to individual approaches between our public
communications.
Corporate level & Business Development
Business Development:
General
Cannabis for medical purposes (also known as "medical Cannabis") is
a new and infant industry with no internationally accepted
standards or protocols. Many states that implemented or are about
to implement Medical Cannabis bills are still to determine and pass
formal sets of regulations, especially when related to products
(such as our Topical cream for skin conditions), that include 3%
THC or more. We are now in the process of completing a
strategic analysis to determine the optimal markets and the best
possible way to penetrate these markets. In this context:
- We have taken proactive steps in various territories including,
but not limited to appointing Mediq as our market access consultant
for Germany;
- We are exploring other potential markets and maintaining an
ongoing dialogue with various potential business partners including
representatives, manufacturers and distributors.
Corporate level
- Our senior management team has been strengthened by the
inclusion of two experienced professionals: Mr. Yossi Dagan, CPA (IL), as our Chief Financial
Officer (CFO) and myself, as your Chairman.
- We have paid down all outstanding debt and the company is now
well positioned to deploy capital solely for its development
needs;
- We announced our initiative to cross-list our stock to the TSX
and we are evaluating the possibility of cross-listing our stock on
additional exchanges to increase trading liquidity as well as to
facilitate our ability to raise capital to enhance our development
and commercialization efforts.
As a management team, it is our vision to develop OWC Pharma as
the leading cannabis-based specialty pharma company. Over the last
few months we have executed on a number of important steps in order
to fulfill this vision. We appreciate your continued support and
interest in OWC Pharma as we move along this pathway to help
patients improve their quality of life with validated and tested
medication and to create value for our shareholders.
I look forward to updating you in the future,
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Stanley Hirsch,
Chairman
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Letter to Shareholders contains 'forward-looking statements'
as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States
Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this
Letter, which are not purely historical, are forward-looking
statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans,
expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such
forward-looking statements include, among other things, filing
patent applications, product development, and business strategy.
Actual results could differ from those projected in any
forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors
include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with
new projects and development stage companies. These forward-looking
statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we
assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or
to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those
projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe
that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in
this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that
any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to
be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set
forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure
outlined in OWC Pharmaceutical Research Corp. (OTCQB: OWCP) reports
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact Information:
Mordechai Bignitz
Chairman and CEO
E-mail: mordechai.bignitz@owcpharma.com
Tel: +972(0)-3-770-8526
SOURCE OWC Pharmaceutical Research Corp.