Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Nature of Business

v3.3.1.900
Nature of Business
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Disclosure Of Company Information And History [Abstract]  
Nature of Operations [Text Block]
NOTE A – Nature of Business
 
 
[1]
Corporate History
 
Matinas BioPharma Holdings Inc. (“Holdings”) is a Delaware corporation formed in 2013. Holdings is the parent company of Matinas BioPharma, Inc. (“BioPharma”), and Aquarius Biotechnologies, Inc., its operating subsidiaries (“Aquarius”, and together with “Holdings” and “BioPharma”, “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 became a wholly owned subsidiary of Holdings (the “Merger”) to effect its recapitalization plan. In connection with the Merger, the stockholders of BioPharma became 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 combined entity. In July and August of 2013, the Company completed a private placement of common stock (the “2013 Private Placement”), 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 . 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 (Aquarius Merger), 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 identifying and developing safe and effective broad spectrum antifungal and anti-bacterial therapeutics for the treatment of serious and life-threatening infections, using our innovative lipid-crystal nano-encapsulation drug delivery platform. See Note D for additional information on this transaction.
 
On April 10, 2015, we completed a private placement (“2015 Private Placement”), under which the Company sold an aggregate of 20,000,000 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase 20,000,000 shares of common stock (see Note E for additional details) resulting in net proceeds of approximately $ 8.5 million after offering expenses.
  
 
[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 orally bioavailable 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. The Company is developing MAT2203 in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID, of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated MAT2203 as a Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) with Fast Track status for the treatment of aspergillus. 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. The Company has an open Investigational New Drug (IND) application for MAT2501. MAT2501, has been granted a QIDP designation and Orphan Drug designation by the U.S. FDA.
 
In addition, the Company is exploring development and partnership options for MAT9001, prescription-only omega-3 fatty acid-based composition under development for hypertriglyceridemia.