ProMIS Neurosciences announces second quarter results for period ending June 30, 2015

TSX: PMN

TORONTO, Aug. 13, 2015 /CNW/ - ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc. announces today its operational and financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015. 

Recent Corporate Highlights

On June 29, 2015, the resolutions announced in the Management Proxy Circular dated May 28, 2015 and placed before the Company's Annual and Special Shareholder Meeting were approved by the shareholders. In particular, overwhelming shareholder approval was obtained for the following:

• The Private Placement Offering as described in the Management Proxy Circular;
• The nominees for Director listed in the Management Proxy Circular, including Dr. Neil Cashman, Dr. Elliot Goldstein, Patrick Kirwin, Johannes Roth, Eugene Williams and William Wyman;
• The special resolution to amend the Articles of the Corporation to change the name of the Corporation from "Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd." to ProMIS Neurosciences, Inc.;
• The amendment of the Company's Stock Option Plan to a 20% rolling option plan, as described in the Management Proxy Circular;
• The appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as auditor of the Company.

In May and June, 2015, the company arranged a secured bridge loan in the amount of US$90,000 (the "Bridge Loan") with four directors of the Corporation (the "Lenders"). The Bridge Loan will serve as interim financing to support the working capital requirements of the Corporation.  The Bridge Loan will accrue interest at 2% per annum and will be secured by the assets of the Corporation. 

On July 6 and July 31, 2015, the Company completed the maximum authorized funding of CDN $2,500,000 via its non-brokered private placement offering that was announced May 22nd and approved at the Company's Annual and Special Shareholder Meeting of June 29th.  A total of 83,333,333 common shares of ProMIS Neurosciences (Shares) at $0.03 per share were issued for gross proceeds of CDN $2,500,000.  

The proceeds from the private placement will be used to pay off outstanding debt and to further the Corporation's re-launch with a clear focus on development of precision medicine solutions for neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).  The additional working capital will be used to generate new intellectual property allowing future development of specific therapeutics and companion diagnostics for neurodegenerative disease, continue support and maintenance of existing intellectual property, engage an experienced senior management team and for general corporate purposes.  

On June 29, 2015, the Board of Directors appointed Eugene Williams as Executive Chairman and Dr. Elliot Goldstein as President and Chief Executive Officer, replacing Dr. Robert Gundel. Dr. Neil Cashman is continuing as Chief Scientific Officer.

The Company is also announcing that Warren Whitehead will be stepping down as CFO effective August 15, 2015 and at that time Ms. Janet Clennett will be replacing Warren as Director of Finance, and Acting CFO.  The Company wishes to acknowledge Warren's contributions to the successful re-launch program and looks forward to continuing interaction with him as a special adviser to the company, in particular as it relates to potential future funding activities.

Commenting on the recent Corporate Highlights, the Company's Executive Chairman, Eugene Williams stated "With the successful outcome of the Company's AGM and recently completed Private Placement the Company now has, in addition to its outstanding scientific base, the financial resources and strong management team to drive the re-launch of the Company and its mandate to focus on precision medicine solutions for Alzheimer's and ALS".

Financial Results

The net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2015 was $279,596 compared to a net loss of $918,002 for the three months ended June 30, 2014.  The decreased net loss in the current period results mainly from lower stock option compensation, and savings related to the restructuring of the company following the announcement of the closing of its operations in Mississauga, Ontario.

For the three months ended June 30, 2015, the Company had nominal sales of $842 compared to $135,570 in the comparable period, when it had an active research collaboration project related to its Alzheimer's diagnostic program.  This project is now completed. 

Research and development expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2015 were $112,632 as compared to $538,272 in the three month ended June 30, 2014. The decrease in expenditures in the current period related mostly to lower salary costs, lower costs on its research programs, and lower stock option compensation.

General and administrative expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2015 were $155,206 as compared to $515,300 in the three months ended June 30, 2014. The decrease in expenditures in the current period resulted mainly from lower stock option compensation and lower investor relations activities.

The net loss for the six months ended June 30, 2015 was $707,601 compared to a net loss of $1,668,839 for the six months ended June 30, 2014.  The decreased net loss in the current period results mainly from lower stock option compensation, reduced salaries related to fewer employees, and savings related to the restructuring of the company following the announcement of the closing of its operations in Mississauga, Ontario.

For the six months ended June 30, 2015, the Company had sales of $12,242 compared to $187,436 in the comparable period, when it had a research collaboration project active.  This project is now completed. 

Research and development expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2015 were $344,992 as compared to $881,415 in the six month ended June 30, 2014. The decrease in expenditures in the current period related mostly to lower salary costs related as a result of headcount reductions, lower program costs and lower stock option compensation.

General and administrative expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2015 were $252,251 as compared to $974,860 in the three months ended June 30, 2014. The decrease in expenditures in the current period resulted mainly from lower stock option compensation and lower investor relations activities, offset by the gain on the sale of equipment that was sold as part of the closing of its operations in Mississauga. 

As at June 30, 2015, the Company had working capital deficit of $973,486. On July 6 and July 31, 2015, the Company completed a CDN $2,500,000 non-brokered private placement offering that was announced May 22nd and approved at the Company's Annual and Special Shareholder Meeting of June 29th.   

Outlook

The Company's priorities for the next year are to focus on identifying and developing precision medicine solutions for AD and ALS.

Regarding AD, the initial focus will be on expanding the Company's Intellectual Property (IP) estate by identifying novel epitope targets on misfolded strains of proteins implicated in AD, such as beta Amyloid and Tau. The Company's proprietary technique, ProMIS^TM , and potentially other complementary and proprietary computational methods will be employed to identify and confirm such novel targets. Subsequent to eventual identification of these targets and submission of initial IP claims, the Company will be in a position to begin elaborating and developing specific therapeutics and companion diagnostics aimed at these targets for Alzheimer's disease.

Regarding ALS, and given the Company's strong IP estate, in particular its ownership of the exclusive rights to the Genus patent relating to misfolded SOD1 in ALS, ProMIS Neurosciences is looking to achieve a collaborative development partnership in this field.

Additional information about the Company, including the MD&A and financial results may be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About ProMIS Neurosciences Inc.
Harnessing the power of precision medicine to conquer Alzheimer's disease.
The company's mission is to discover and develop precision medicine solutions for early detection and effective treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
ProMIS Neurosciences utilizes its computational discovery platform, ProMIS^TM to predict novel targets known as Disease Specific Epitopes (DSEs) on the molecular surface of misfolded proteins. Using this 'Precision Medicine' approach, ProMIS Neurosciences is developing novel antibody therapeutics and specific companion diagnostics for Alzheimer's disease and ALS. ProMIS Neurosciences has developed two proprietary technologies to specifically identify very low levels of misfolded proteins in a biological sample: Epitope Protection^TM and AMFIA^TM, an ultra-sensitive dual-bead immunoassay. In addition, ProMIS Neurosciences  owns the exclusive rights to the Genus patent relating to misfolded SOD1 in ALS, and currently has a preclinical monoclonal antibody therapeutic directed against this target. For further information please consult the Company's website at: www.promisneurosciences.com

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This information release may contain certain forward-looking information. Such information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by statements herein, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to it as well as other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by the Company in its public securities filings, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE ProMIS Neurosciences Inc.

Dr. Elliot Goldstein, President and CEO, ProMIS Neurosciences Inc., Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone], [email protected]; Janet Clennett, Director of Finance, ProMIS Neurosciences Inc., Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone], [email protected]