Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Company Information and History

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Company Information and History
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Disclosure Of Company Information And History [Abstract]  
Document Information [Text Block]
NOTE A - Company Information and History
 
[1]
Corporate History
 
Matinas BioPharma Holdings Inc. (“Holdings”) a Delaware corporation formed in 2013. Holdings is the parent company of Matinas BioPharma, Inc., and Aquarius Biotechnologies, Inc. its operating subsidiaries (“BioPharma” or “the Company” or “we” or “our” or “us”). The Company is a development stage biopharmaceutical company with a focus on identifying and developing novel pharmaceutical products.
 
On July 11, 2013, and contemporaneously with the initial closing of a private placement in July and August 2013 described below, BioPharma entered into a Merger agreement whereby it become a wholly owned subsidiary of Holdings (the “Merger”) to effect its recapitalization plan. In connection with the Merger, the stockholders of BioPharma become the stockholders of the Holdings and received an aggregate of 9,000,000 shares of Holdings common stock and warrants to purchase 1,000,000 shares of Holdings common stock. For financial reporting purposes the accounting acquirer is BioPharma and accordingly, the historical financial statements of BioPharma are the continuing financial statements of the entity. In July and August of 2013, the Company completed a private placement of common stock, under which the Company sold an aggregate of 15,000,000 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase an aggregate of 7,500,000 shares of common stock (the “2013 Private Placement”). On February 12, 2014, the Company’s S-1 covering the resale of certain shares of our common stock was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
 
On January 29, 2015, we completed the acquisition of Aquarius Biotechnologies Inc., (referred to as the “Aquarius Merger” throughout this document and which is discussed in more detail under (Note D), a New Jersey-based, early-stage pharmaceutical company focused on the development of differentiated and orally delivered therapeutics based on a proprietary, lipid-based, drug delivery platform called “cochleate delivery technology.” Following the Aquarius Merger, we are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of targeted therapeutics for the treatment of serious fungal infections and multi-drug resistant, or MDR, gram-negative bacterial infections, using our innovative lipid-based drug delivery platform. See acquisition Note D for additional information on this transaction.
  
[2]
Proprietary Products and Technology Portfolios
 
Our proprietary cochleate lipid-crystal nano-particle delivery technology platform, licensed from Rutgers University on an exclusive worldwide basis, is designed specifically for the targeted and safe delivery of pharmaceuticals directly to the site of infection or inflammation. This license comprises a range of issued patents and patent applications, as well as the use of proprietary know-how with respect to the manufacturing and testing of products using this technology.
 
Our lead product candidate using the cochleate delivery technology is MAT2203, an oral formulation of the broad spectrum intravenous(IV)-delivered anti-fungal agent amphotericin B. MAT2203 is under development for serious fungal infections and a single-escalating-dose Phase 1 study with MAT2203 has been completed. We expect to commence and complete a Phase 2a study of MAT2203 in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID, of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, in 2015, with initial results expected in the fourth quarter of 2015. We are developing a pipeline of targeted delivery formulations by applying our cochleate oral delivery technology to a potentially broad array of proven medications, including MAT2501. MAT2501 is an oral cochleate formulation of the broad spectrum intravenous (IV)-delivered aminoglycoside antibiotic called amikacin, which is most often used for treating severe, hospital-acquired infections, including Gram-negative bacterial infections. MAT2501 is currently in the formal toxicology testing stage, expected to lead to an IND filing in late 2015.
 
We are also developing novel prescription-only pharmaceutical products with lipids as the active pharmaceutical ingredient. MAT9001 is under development for an initial indication for the treatment of highly elevated triglycerides, or severe hypertriglyceridemia. We submitted an IND to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for MAT9001 in October, 2014 and a comparative PK/PD study with 42 enrolled patients has recently completed enrollment, with data expected in the second quarter of 2015. Finally, our MAT8800 discovery program is working to develop product candidates comprising omega-3 fatty acids for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition for which there are currently no approved pharmacologic treatments available.
  
[3]
Business Risks
   
The Company’s operations are subject to a number of factors that can affect its operating results and financial condition. Such factors include, but are not limited to: the results of clinical testing and trial activities of the Company’s products, the Company’s ability to raise capital, any changes in the regulatory environment and FDA requirements for regulatory approval, the Company’s ability to obtain regulatory approval to market its products, competition from products manufactured and sold or being developed by other companies, the price of, and demand for, Company products, the Company’s ability to negotiate favorable licensing or other manufacturing and marketing agreements for its products, and other factors listed under the heading “Risk Factors” elsewhere in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and other reports that the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission.