Complaint Filed by the Texas Medical Board Against Dr. Burzynski
On March 3, 2017, the Texas Medical Board issued their final ruling regarding the complaint filed on December 11, 2013 and subsequently amended in July 2014 and November 2014, against Dr. Stanislaw R. Burzynski, who serves as our President and the Chairman of our Board of Directors. The Texas Medical Board made allegations that Dr. Burzynski had acted unprofessionally and failed to meet standards of care under the state’s Medical Practice Act. In the final ruling, the Texas Medical Board found that Dr. Burzynski was subject to sanction for various failures that included supervision of foreign medical graduates, untimely and insufficient informed consent, medical record support documentation, tumor measurement reporting inaccuracy, and lack of disclosure of ownership interest in a pharmacy. As a result, Dr. Burzynski was reprimanded. His Texas license was suspended for five years but that suspension was stayed and he was placed under probation under terms and conditions that include having billing practice monitored by a billing monitor for 12 consecutive monitoring cycles, enrolling and completing a physicians education program ethics course, following informed consent protocol, passing the Medical Jurisprudence Examination, and compliance with the Medical Practice Act and other statutes regulating Dr. Burzynski’s practice. As requested as part of the terms and conditions of his final order, Dr. Burzynski has completed payment of an administrative penalty and restitution, submission of all informed consent forms for review, submission of an ownership interest disclosure form for review, and he has completed continuing medical education. On August 31, 2022, Dr. Burzynski was notified by the Texas Medical Board that the final order had been successfully terminated effective as of August 17, 2022.
Termination of License Agreement
Pursuant to the terms of the License Agreement dated June 29, 1983, as superseded by an Amended License Agreement dated April 24, 1989 and a Second Amended License Agreement dated March 1, 1990 between the Company and Dr. Burzynski (collectively, the “License Agreement”), the License Agreement terminated on July 2, 2019 upon the expiration of the last patent licensed to the Company from Dr. Burzynski. As of July 2, 2019, all patents previously licensed by the Company under the License Agreement have expired. The Company does own one US patent which was recently issued on May 31, 2022.
Results of Operations
Three Months Ended August 31, 2022 Compared to Three Months Ended August 31, 2021
Research and development costs were approximately $171,000 and $186,000 for the three months ended August 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The decrease of $15,000 or 8% was due to a decrease in personnel costs of $24,000, offset by an increase in consulting and quality control costs of $3,000, facility and equipment costs of $5,000 and materials costs of $1,000, as a result of a reduction of requirements imposed by the Food and Drug Administration.
General and administrative expenses were approximately $45,000 and $38,000 for the three months ended August 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The increase of $7,000 or 17% was due to an increase in legal and other professional costs of $4,000 and other costs of $3,000 as a result of an increase in requests from regulatory agencies.
The Company had net losses of approximately $216,000 and $225,000 for the three months ended August 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The decrease in the net loss from 2021 to 2022 is primarily due to an overall decrease in research and development costs and an increase in general and administrative expenses of the Company as described above.
Six Months Ended August 31, 2022 Compared to Six Months Ended August 31, 2021
Research and development costs were approximately $338,000 and $418,000 for the six months ended August 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The decrease of $80,000 or 19% was due to a decrease in personnel costs of $65,000 and facility and equipment costs of $15,000, as a result of a reduction of requirements imposed by the Food and Drug Administration.
General and administrative expenses were approximately $109,000 and $123,000 for the six months ended August 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The decrease of $13,000 or 11% was due to a decrease in legal and other professional costs of $17,000, offset by an increase in other costs of $4,000 as a result of a decrease in requests from regulatory agencies.