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Innovus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
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March 18, 2013 Issue |
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The Most Powerful Name In Corporate News and Information |
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With the Acquisition of CIRCUMSerum™ and Nine Prescription Products Approved in US Acquired from Prospector Capital Partners II to go along with their two OTC Products Innovus Pharm has gone from Infancy Stage to a Pre-Commercial with a Deep Pipeline |
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APEAZ(TM) is an FDA-compliant, fast-acting arthritis pain relief cream, formulated to target the joints where arthritis resides. APEAZ™ is one of the most intensive over-the-counter ("OTC") topical treatments for arthritis pain relief available today. APEAZ(TM) is available in regular and extra-strength formulations. The product was designed to relieve acute pain, arthritis pain, athletic injuries, muscle soreness and/or stiffness, muscle and joint pain, simple backache, strains and sprains.
The skin cream, CIRCUMserum™ is a patent-pending new formulation of essential natural ingredients. The cream moisturizes the head of the penis, making the skin softer and more sensitive. In a use study done after the product was launched in 2012 in the US, 80% of regular users reported heightened sensations and greater sexual satisfaction.
CIRCUMserum™ is expected to be especially effective in circumcised men, whose penises lose sensitivity over time without the protective foreskin, and in men with diabetes, who have a high incidence of erectile dysfunction because of neuropathy of the extremities.
For further information about Innovus Pharma, go to http://www.innovuspharma.com. |
La
Jolla, CA 92037
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Interview conducted by: Bud Wayne, Editorial Executive, CEOCFO Magazine, Published – March 18, 2013
CEOCFO:
Dr. Damaj, would you tell us how long you have been with Innovus
Pharmaceuticals?
CEOCFO: Can you give us a little background on Innovus and maybe some of the history? Mr. Damaj: Innovus Pharmaceuticals came into existence from the merger of Fast Track Pharmaceuticals, which I spun off from my previous company Bio-Quant, and North Horizon in 2010. It is a publicly company on the OTC QB under the symbol INNV that was based in Los Angeles. I came onboard in January 22nd as the president and CEO. We moved the headquarters down to La Jolla, California. The company initially had only two products. APEAZ™ is an OTC compliant product for the relief of arthritis pain. They had an SSAO/VAP-1 preclinical product developed for arthritis and psoriasis. When I joined, the mission of Innovus changed into developing and licensing as well as acquiring and marketing pharmaceutical products in four main areas. Those areas are dermatology, autoimmune, respiratory and sexual dysfunction diseases. Those products are differentiated and unique in the sense that they are uniquely packaged and presented for better patient compliance, convenience and results. About ten days ago, we were successful in signing a binding term sheet with Prospector Capital Partners II for the acquisition of nine prescription products from them. The products are not on the markets and once the transaction closes we will be working on setting up manufacturing, distribution and reimbursement. In addition, we signed a second binding terms sheet for the acquisition of CIRCUMSerum™ for increasing sensitivity to the skin of penises in men. The two term sheets signed in a very short period is an indication to the focus and the precise execution of the management on our objectives at Innovus.
CEOCFO: How will this acquisitions change the focus at Innovus? Mr. Damaj: These acquisitions now take the company into a pre-commercial stage level. Now we have nine prescription products approved in the US, two OTC products. Now we have gone from a young company in its infancy stage to a pre-commercial company with a deep and a great pipeline. This is fast growth that we expect to continue.
CEOCFO: Has APEAZ™ has been on the market for a while now? Mr. Damaj: APEAZ has been on the market since 2006 and it was licensed at that time to Argus Health and brought about half-a-million dollars a year in revenues. Unfortunately the owner of Argus Health passed away and the rights were returned to FastTrack and now we are re-launching it under Innovus.
CEOCFO: What is the commercialization plan for these products? Mr. Damaj: The commercialization plan will be focused on two things. On the OTC products, we will go through mainly online wholesalers and we are expanding the management team for that. The addition of our new VP of Sales and Marketing Robert Verfurth is yet another example of the execution on our strategy. Robert will lead the sales and marketing efforts of our products to ensure revenues and cash flow. For the prescription products, our plan is to partner with companies who already have the infrastructure, sales force and distribution. We do not have currently plans to hire our own sales force but we plan on partnering on those in the US and we already have discussions outside the US in order to put those products on the market. My commercial partnerships track record is very well known in the industry and I will be applying all my efforts towards marketing those products in many regions as soon as possible.
CEOCFO: What is your strategy for growth? Mr. Damaj: Our strategy for growth lies in our mission, which is to license, acquire and then market and commercialize. The product that we acquire and license will be either close to NDA filing or they are already approved or on the market. The acquisition we are closing with Prospector capital for the 9 products and with CIRCUMSerum™ are good examples of our growth strategy.
CEOCFO: Are any of your products still in the clinical stage approved at this point? Mr. Damaj: The nine products we acquired are all FDA approved. The only product in development is our SSOA/VAP-1 program, which is on the backburner since we have a great deal of commercial products that need to be launched and once the money start to flow we could use some of it to advance this program.
CEOCFO: Do you have adequate funding to move ahead with your plans? Mr. Damaj: The funding now is coming from me personally and from the Chairman of the board. We have committed funding that will take us until the end of 2013, which will allow us to complete the acquisition and the regulatory filing of the line of products and then launch the APEAZ™ product in the fourth quarter and start sales of CIRCUMSerum™. Once we grow more we will go out and raise more money but for this year we are set in our funding and finances.
CEOCFO: Is there anything else that you would like to touch on? Mr. Damaj: The unique and differentiating factor of Innovus is really the products that we have which we call unique packaging, the management and the commercial strategy that we are putting in place.
CEOCFO: Will you tell us about the Zinx™ for cough and cold and why is it listed as a pharmaceutical? Mr. Damaj: Zinx™ is a product that contains the zinc and comes in the form of lozenges. A unique product indeed due to the results obtained in the clinical trials in terms of reducing the severity of symptoms of the flu and its duration. We are excited to re-launch this product.
CEOCFO: Is it an antibiotic? Mr. Damaj: No it is not, it is actually made of zinc and the function of zinc is to chelate the viruses and hence reduce their levels and their effect on the body. Fewer viruses mean less symptoms and shorter duration of the disease.
CEOCFO: Why should the business and investment community pay attention to Innovus Pharmaceuticals? Mr. Damaj: Innovus Pharmaceuticals is an emerging growth company that is moving quickly to establish commercial operations to achieve two corporate goals: First, to become cash-flow positive. And second, to list on NASDAQ. A very clean and well-articulated plan. Following my presentation at the Bio CEO 2013 in New York on February 11th 2013 people are starting to know what Innovus is doing and the value of Innovus. It is now the time to come in and invest in this company as the market cap is so small and it does not yet reflect the full potential of the products we have and the strategy. The more we move ahead and execute the more value we add. The management team has successfully done this before and has a proven track record.
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“Innovus Pharmaceuticals is an emerging growth company that is moving quickly to establish commercial operations to achieve two corporate goals: First, to become cash-flow positive. And second, to list on NASDAQ.”- Dr. Bassam B. Damaj |
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