Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Organization and Business Operations

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Organization and Business Operations
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Organization and Business Operations [Abstract]  
Organization and Business Operations [Text Block]

1.  Organization and Business Operations

 

Organization

 

On June 30, 2006, Lixte Biotechnology, Inc., a privately-held Delaware corporation (“Lixte”) incorporated on August 9, 2005, completed a reverse merger transaction with SRKP 7, Inc. (“SRKP”), a non-trading public shell company, whereby Lixte became a wholly-owned subsidiary of SRKP. On December 7, 2006, SRKP amended its Certificate of Incorporation to change its name to Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. (“Holdings”). Unless the context indicates otherwise, Lixte and Holdings are hereinafter referred to as the “Company”.

 

For financial reporting purposes, Lixte was considered the accounting acquirer in the merger and the merger was accounted for as a reverse merger. Accordingly, the historical financial statements presented herein are those of Lixte. The stockholders’ equity section of SRKP has been retroactively restated for all periods presented to reflect the accounting effect of the reverse merger transaction. All costs associated with the reverse merger transaction were expensed as incurred.

 

The Company is considered a “development stage company” under current accounting standards, as it has not yet commenced any revenue-generating operations, does not have any cash flows from operations, and is dependent on debt and equity funding to finance its operations.

 

The Company’s common stock is presently traded on the OTCQB operated by the OTC Markets under the symbol “LIXT.PK”.

 

Operating Plans

 

The Company is developing new treatments for human cancers for which better therapies are urgently needed. The Company’s drug discovery process is based on discerning clues to potential new targets for cancer treatments reported in the increasingly large body of literature characterizing the molecular variants, which characterize human cancers. In the past decade, there has been an unprecedented expansion in knowledge of biochemical defects in the cancer cell. The Company selects drugs for which there are existing data suggesting that they may affect the altered pathways of the cancer cell and may be given safely to humans. The Company seeks to rapidly arrive at patentable structures through analysis of the literature rather than screening of thousands of structures for activity against a particular biochemical pathway. This approach has led to the development of two classes of drugs, protein phosphatase inhibitors (PTase-i), designated by the Company as the LB-100 series of compounds, and histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), designated by the Company as the LB-200 series of compounds, for the potential prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The LB-100 series consists of novel structures, which have the potential to be first in their class, and the LB-200 series contains compounds which have the potential to be the most effective of this class.

 

On August 16, 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “PTO”) awarded a patent to the Company for its lead compound, LB-100, as well as for a number of structurally related compounds. On November 10, 2011, the PTO issued an Official Notice of Allowance in conjunction with the Company’s patent application for the structure and synthesis of its compounds of the LB-200 series. On November 15, 2011, the PTO awarded a patent to the Company for its lead compound in the LB-200 series and a compound in the LB-100 series as neuroprotective agents for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Patent applications on these compounds are pending world-wide.

 

On December 19, 2011, an article in the December 12, 2011 early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States reported that the Company’s investigational drug, LB-205, was shown to have therapeutic potential in a laboratory model of the genetic illness Gaucher’s disease. The Company has patent applications pending on the use of LB-205 for this purpose.

 

The Company has demonstrated that lead compounds of both series of drugs are active against a broad spectrum of human cancers in cell culture and against several types of human cancers in animal models. The research on new drug treatment was initiated in 2006 with the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH) under a continuing Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). The research at NINDS is being led by Dr. Zhengping Zhuang, an internationally recognized investigator in the molecular pathology of cancer. The initial focus of the CRADA was on the most common and uniformly fatal brain tumor of adults, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The work at NIH has now extended to the most common brain tumor of children, medulloblastoma, and to the most common cancer of children, neuroblastoma. Because the LB-100 compounds have been shown to potentiate the activity of several different types of standard anti-cancer drugs, the scope of potential targets for therapy of cancers with LB-100 and a second drug has been expanded to include breast cancer, melanoma and sarcomas.

 

The second class of drugs (LB-200) under development by the Company is the histone deacetylase inhibitors. Many pharmaceutical companies are also developing drugs of this type, and at least two companies have an HDACi approved for clinical use, in both cases for the treatment of a type of lymphoma. Despite this significant competition, the Company has demonstrated that its HDACi have broad activity against many cancer types, have neuroprotective activity, and have anti-fungal activity. In addition, these compounds have low toxicity, making them attractive candidates for development. It appears that one type of molecule has diverse effects, affecting biochemical processes that are fundamental to the life of the cell, whether they are cancer cells, nerve cells, or even fungal cells. The neuroprotective activity of the Company’s HDACi has been demonstrated in the test tube in model systems that mimic injury to brain cells such as occurs in stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. This type of protective activity may have potential application to a broad spectrum of other chronic neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s Disease and Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

 

The Company’s primary objective is to bring one lead compound of the LB-100 series to clinical trial. The Company has completed the pre-clinical studies needed to prepare an application to the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to conduct a Phase I clinical trial of LB-100 and is in the process of completing the preparation of the IND application to carry out a Phase I clinical trial of LB-100, which is expected to be filed in April 2012.

 

The purpose of the clinical trial is to demonstrate that LB-100 can be administered safely to human beings at a dose and at a frequency that achieves the desired pharmacologic effect, in this case, inhibition of a specific enzyme, without being associated with toxicities considered unacceptable.

  

The Company has adequate funds on hand to support its operations at current levels until early 2012, including submission of an application to the FDA to commence a Phase I clinical trial of the Company’s LB-100 compound and continuing to expand the Company’s patent portfolio and maintain its applications for international protection of lead compounds of both the LB-100 and LB-200 series. The Company will require additional funds in 2012 to conduct a Phase I clinical trial of LB-100 and to continue to conduct operations.

 

Going Concern

 

The Company’s consolidated financial statements have been presented on the basis that it is a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The Company is in the development stage and has not generated any revenues from operations to date, and does not expect to do so in the foreseeable future. The Company has experienced recurring operating losses and negative operating cash flows since inception, and has financed its working capital requirements during this period primarily through the recurring sale of its equity securities. As a result, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, in its report on the Company’s 2011 consolidated financial statements, has raised substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

 

The Company’s ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to raise additional capital and to ultimately achieve sustainable revenues and profitable operations. The Company’s consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties.

 

At December 31, 2011, the Company had not yet commenced any revenue-generating operations. All activity through December 31, 2011 has been related to the Company’s formation, capital raising efforts, and research and development activities. As such, the Company has yet to generate any cash flows from operations, and is dependent on debt and equity funding from both related and unrelated parties to finance its operations. Prior to June 30, 2006, the Company’s cash requirements were funded by advances from the Company’s founder aggregating $92,717.

 

Because the Company is currently engaged in research at an early stage, it will likely take a significant amount of time to develop any product or intellectual property capable of generating revenues. As such, the Company’s business is unlikely to generate any sustainable revenues in the next several years, and may never do so. Even if the Company is able to generate revenues in the future through licensing its technologies or through product sales, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to generate a profit.

 

The Company’s major focus in 2012 will be to initiate a Phase I clinical trial of its lead phosphatase inhibitor, LB-100. Large animal toxicology testing and documentation of the long-term stability of LB-100 in a formulation suitable for clinical use have been completed. The Company currently expects to submit an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the FDA during the second quarter of 2012. The Company is currently in discussions with academic centers recognized for their expertise in the early assessment of new anti-cancer compounds regarding the conduct of a Phase I clinical trial of LB-100.

 

The Company has adequate resources to fund its operations until early 2012 at a level that will allow for the continuation of the Company’s two drug development programs currently in process and the submission of an application to the FDA for approval to conduct a Phase I clinical trial of LB-100. The Company will require additional funds in the second quarter of 2012 to conduct a Phase I clinical trial of LB-100, which is expected to cost approximately $1,500,000 over a period of approximately 12 months. The Company is attempting to raise approximately $2,500,000 through a combination of debt or equity financings, and/or the sale, licensing or joint venturing of its intellectual properties, to fund clinical studies and support ongoing operations.

 

The amount and timing of future cash requirements will depend on the pace of these programs, particularly the completion of the Phase I trial of LB-100. After completion of the Phase I trial, the next step will be to determine the anti-cancer activity against a particular type of human cancer in Phase II trials. Market conditions present uncertainty as to the Company’s ability to secure additional funds, as well as its ability to reach profitability. There can be no assurances that the Company will be able to secure additional financing, or obtain favorable terms on such financing if it is available, or as to the Company’s ability to achieve positive earnings and cash flows from operations. Continued negative cash flows and lack of liquidity create significant uncertainty about the Company’s ability to implement its operating plan in 2012, as a result of which the Company may have to reduce the scope of its planned operations. If cash resources are insufficient to satisfy the Company’s liquidity requirements, the Company would be required to scale back or discontinue its technology and product development programs, or obtain funds, if available, through strategic alliances that may require the Company to relinquish rights to certain of its technologies products, or to discontinue its operations entirely.