Hi guys, I've been here all along and have been invested in CBIO since 2001 but haven't felt a need to make any comment over the last year, but I now feel we have a real future to be optimistic about again, IF we all agree to merge CBIO and Inverseon. I've been reading and doing my own research and after receiving the report below (which I've asked and been given permission to post here), feel that a YES vote is the certain future way to head from here. Anyone deliberating should read the due diligence done by Retirewell and also note, that Inverseon has a US$4.4 million grant so shareholders do not need to come up with any money for this. Anyone wanting to phone them for more info please do so - number is at the end of the report.
Retirewell newsletter to CBio Shareholders – 2 August, 2012 CBIO MERGER WITH INVERSEON ‘FAIR AND REASONABLE’
You should have received a Notice of General Meeting and Securityholder Voting Form in the mail from CBio Ltd for a General Meeting to be held at 3 pm on Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at the offices of the company’s lawyers, McCullough Robertson, Level 11, Central Plaza Two, 66 Eagle Street, Brisbane.
This meeting will consider 8 resolutions which, if passed, will effect the proposed merger between CBio and the US pharmaceutical company Inverseon Inc., which was announced to the ASX on 2 July. You also should have received a 106 page Independent Expert’s Report by BDO, which concludes that the merger proposal is “fair and reasonable” to CBio shareholders.
Retirewell also has conducted its own due diligence into the merger proposal by obtaining the opinion of an independent scientific expert, Dr Elliot Israel, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of Clinical Research, Pulmonary and Critical Care Division at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston (one of only two teaching hospitals affiliated with Harvard), who has completed more than 50 studies in asthma.
Dr Israel said he was very familiar with the Inverseon science and knew its President, Dr Mitchell Glass, from way back. He described the Inverseon science as ”very attractive, a unique idea, intriguing and potentially exciting … [with] a significant potential for this to be an effective therapeutic approach. There is a reasonable amount of animal data to show this is a possibility… the studies are supportive [and] there is lot of circumstantial evidence as well.” Dr Israel said Inverseon’s drug could “revolutionise the approach to treating severe asthma in the 10 to 15% of patients who are poorly controlled.”
We are pleased that the merged company, the new name of which will be Invion Ltd, will have the benefit of a US$4.4 million grant from the US Government’s National Institute of Health to fund its Phase II asthma drug trial, which means that shareholders do not have to come up with this money.
We also are pleased that Invion will be conducting a pilot study to treat lupus patients with XToll next year and hope that this will be successful and lead to a licensing and royalty deal with another pharmaceutical company.
We believe that the new management team of Chief Executive Officer, Dr Bill Garner, Executive Vice-President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer, Dr Mitchell Glass, and Executive Director, Dr James Campbell, have the necessary expertise and experience to turn this company around and rebuild value for shareholders.
Dr Campbell was a main part of the management team that led ChemGenex Ltd (old ASX: CXS) to be successfully taken over by pharmaceutical giant Cephalon for approximately $230 million in 2011. His and the rest of the new executive team’s experience and connections to “big Pharma” and various institutions will prove invaluable.
Importantly, the majority of the executive and scientific staff will hold shares (escrowed for Inverseon holders) in the new entity and thus are aligned in growing shareholder wealth.
It should be noted that the weekly Australian biotech investment newsletter Bioshares published an article on 13 July recommending that CBio shareholders vote for the merger with Inverseon, which it said was “appealing” for a number of reasons – a lower risk profile for Inverseon’s lead drug, a less expensive clinical development program, Inverseon’s professional management and the fact that the large global markets of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are in need of new and superior medicines.
There will be an upcoming investor roadshow and because the merged company will have various promising drugs going into trials and at different stages of development, we expect the news flow to be far more frequent going forward.
We recommend that you vote for all 8 resolutions. The deadline for proxy votes is 3 pm on Tuesday, 28 August. Voting directions are on the Securityholder Voting Form. You can either vote online or by returning the completed and signed form by mail or fax to Link Market Services Ltd.
Vote FOR all 4 resolutions at 2nd General Meeting same day.
CBio Ltd has called a second General Meeting to be held at 4 pm on Thursday, 30 August, 2012 at the offices of the company’s lawyers, McCullough Robertson, Level 11, Central Plaza Two, 66 Eagle Street, Brisbane, straight after the first General Meeting at 3 pm that day.
This meeting will consider 4 “housekeeping” resolutions which, if passed, will ratify the issue of shares and options in connection with previous capital raisings and remove a temporary restriction on the company’s ability to raise capital by way of a placement.
We recommend that you vote for all 4 resolutions. The deadline for proxy votes for this second meeting is 4 pm on Tuesday, 28 August.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The Retirewell e-Newsletter contains general information only. Because the particular circumstances and needs of individual investors may vary greatly, the information herein should not be used as a substitute for personalised professional advice. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information is correct, its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed; thus Retirewell cannot be held responsible for any loss suffered by any party due to their reliance on the information or arising from any error or omission. Retirewell Financial Planning Pty Ltd (ABN 29 070 985 509) is the holder of Australian Financial Services Licence No. 247062.
CBZ Price at posting:
5.3¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
