The following is a transcription of the above video, and The Market Online has edited it for clarity.
Kane Biotech Inc. (TSXV:KNE), a Canadian-based biotech company engaged in the development and commercialization of products that prevent and remove microbial biofilms, announced this morning it has reached an agreement in principle for the sale of its two-thirds interest in the STEM Animal Health subsidiary.
We spoke with President, CEO and Director Marc Edwards, who shared more information about the transaction and what the future holds in store for Kane.
TMO: To start us off, can you please give us a brief background about Kane Biotech?
Edwards: We’ve got about over 20 years of history in the development and commercialization of technologies that inhibit microbial biofilm. Biofilms are a natural defense mechanism that bacteria have that allows them to really firmly attach to the surface, but also be highly resistant to antibiotics and antimicrobials. It’ll make bacteria up to a thousand times more resistant.
Everywhere you’ll have bacteria looking to attach to a surface, you’ll have microbial biofilm. And we have technologies that break down that biofilm and make the bacteria or fungus a lot easier to kill.
TMO: And you announced this morning that Kane had reached an agreement in principle for the sale of your two thirds interest in STEM Animal Health. What does this mean for the company?
Edwards: I mean, it’s a huge milestone for Kane. I think the price point we got for the company really reflects not only on the great work we did in developing the company, but also the great technology that we have. Really what they’re acquiring is the technology, and they’re going to take the sales to the next level.
We’re very, very excited about this morning’s transaction. It’ll clean up our balance sheet and then refocus us on an area we think we can do very well. And that’s the broader dermatological market with a strong focus on advanced wound care and non-healing chronic wounds.
TMO: When you say refocus the company, what other markets do you focus on besides animal health?
Edwards: Well, we were working on animal health. We had an oral care product. Basically, you’d add a cap full of our product to your dog’s drinking water, and that would turn the drinking water into mouthwash.
Now, we’ve also got gotten FDA clearance for our Revive Antimicrobial Wound Gel, which we’re on the verge of the commercial launch. And we think that biofilms play a big, big role in the broader dermatological market.
Dermatology has historically been a low-margin area. It’s really becoming a fast-growing, high-value market. And we really think that biofilms play an important role there. Also, with our 20-plus years experience in developing technologies that are strong enough to break down the biofilm, but not harsh enough that they will damage the skin, we think that we’ve got a really good first mover advantage in the dermatological space when it comes to treating topical infections.
TMO: What should investors expect to see for the remainder of the year.
Edwards: We’ve got so much going on right now. This capital injection is really going to help us get to the next level. I mentioned earlier our commercial launch, the full-fledged commercial launch of our Revive Antimicrobial Wound Gel. We also announced in January that we had filed some new IPs and patents on a spray version of that gel. And that’ll be ideal for burns.
We expect a commercial launch to happen this year through our partner ProgenaCare Global and they’re doing a really fantastic job there. We’ve got biofilms distribution partners in the U.S. and Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica through Salud Pharma, and we should expect to see other distribution agreements coming out shortly.
In addition to that, we’ve got funding from the U.S. Department of Defense for the development of our DispersinB Wound Gel. All the preclinical work that we’ve done there has gone extremely well, and investors should expect the launch of that clinical trial.
And we’re also going to be testing that same product in other dermatological indications such as acne. And then we’re expecting to sign a few new partnerships in other areas as well.
We’re very excited about everything going on and the sale of our STEM business is really going to provide us with the capital injection we need to take the company to the next level. So, we’re very excited.
You can find Kane Biotech Inc. on the Venture Exchange under the symbol V.KNE or head to its website at kanebiotech.com for more information.
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