Citius Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: $CTXR): Late-Stage Assets, Strategic Mergers & Upcoming Catalysts

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00:00All right, mic check, one, two, three, here we go.

00:06Welcome Benzinga Nation.

00:07Today, we're joined in the studio by Leonard Mazur, who is the CEO and founder of Sidious

00:12Pharmaceuticals.

00:13We're here to discuss the company's value proposition, especially in light of the recent

00:17market attention and the upcoming catalyst.

00:19We'll dive into some specific aspects of these developments, but first, let's get a broader

00:23understanding of the company and the strategic direction.

00:26Leonard, welcome to the show.

00:28Thank you very much.

00:29I appreciate you taking the time for this interview.

00:31So let me give you an overview of the company.

00:35First of all, the first thing I want to say about the company is we, the founder, myself

00:41and the other co-founder of the company, Myron Olupiak, we have our own money invested in

00:46the company.

00:47So we've invested, I've put in $22.5 million and Myron has invested directly $4 million.

00:54That's direct, no stock options, nothing like that.

00:57So we are, our interests are totally aligned with the shareholders of the company.

01:03We're a biopharma company.

01:04We have very late stage, more than late stage.

01:06We have one drug that's about to be approved, Lymphir.

01:10We have what's known as a PDUFA date or an approval date on the drug of August 13th.

01:16We're very excited about this.

01:18We're going to be launching the drug in the fourth quarter.

01:22And so consequently, we will go from no revenues to revenues.

01:27So we'll be a revenue producing company, but within the fourth quarter.

01:30Our other asset is Menoloc, which is an antibiotic lock solution for salvaging or sterilizing

01:38infected catheters.

01:39That one is completed a phase three trial.

01:42We had extremely positive statistics on it, a P value of 0.0006, which is extremely positive.

01:53And we are preparing all the data for a meeting with the FDA to be able to secure what our

02:00next steps are with the agency on moving ahead with Menoloc.

02:05You mentioned Lymphir, which I'll get to here in a minute, but you also, you know, your

02:08company also had some impressive late stage assets that have already been through the

02:12phase three with the FDA.

02:14Give me a quick insight on that, but their value to the market as well.

02:18OK, so with Lymphir, our plan is Lymphir is in a subsidiary called Sidious Oncology, Inc.

02:27That subsidiary is will be acquired shortly by 10x cane.

02:34It's a it's a NASDAQ listed SPAC.

02:37They've put a valuation on the asset of six hundred and seventy five million dollars.

02:42They'll be issuing sixty seven point five million shares to us that will start to trade.

02:48The trading will begin before the drug is approved.

02:51So we're right on right around the corner from that as well.

02:55Those sixty seven point five million shares will be issued to us.

02:59The company will own somewhere around 90 percent or thereabouts of the shares, depending on

03:08who stays in and who doesn't stay in in that SPAC.

03:12The reason we're doing it that way is because, number one, we get a NASDAQ listing by having

03:18the SPAC acquire the the asset.

03:22And at the same time, it'll enable us to do something that will prevent dilution for the

03:28Sidious Pharma shareholders.

03:29So the launch of Lymphir is going to take some funds and those funds will be raised

03:37through this through Sidious Oncology Inc and not Sidious Pharmaceuticals Inc.

03:42There'll be a benefit to the shareholders from that transaction.

03:47Well, that's exciting stuff.

03:48Anytime I hear the words benefit to the shareholders, I know our viewers love hearing that as well.

03:53Can you give me a little bit more insight on the shares that Sidious will be receiving

03:57in the transactions?

03:58I know you kind of briefly went over that.

03:59Sure. So those shares will be will start trading.

04:06The benefit to the shareholders is that since we will be the approximately 90 percent owners

04:14of those shares, the financials will get consolidated within the reporting of Sidious

04:23Pharmaceuticals, as well, as I said, we'll have revenues.

04:27We believe that during the course of the first year on the market that will be profitable.

04:35So all that will benefit the Sidious shareholders as well.

04:39So there's a real benefit to Sidious Pharmaceuticals shareholders.

04:45Love that. I know you mentioned that you'll kind of have that date whenever you're ready

04:48to announce it. We can talk about that more.

04:50Are there any other upcoming catalysts that we should know about?

04:53So, yes. So basically, Menlo Lock is is, as I said, we're assembling all the data now

05:01for the meeting with the FDA, and hopefully we'll have we'll have positive announcements

05:06come out of that meeting. But I can't predict that at this moment.

05:09But that's a catalyst coming up.

05:11The launch for sure is the launch of Lemphir is is a very positive catalyst for all of us.

05:20We have we've been looking at this market, this cancer market for for Lemphir,

05:25which is for cutaneous T cell lymphoma.

05:27We've been looking at it for a good, good amount of time.

05:30We've identified where all the treaters are in the disease.

05:34We've identified where all the territories are going to be.

05:37We're working with a company called Eversana that's provided us with a lot of data.

05:41We know everything there is to know about our competitors.

05:45And the fact is that we'll be additive to the market once we're launched.

05:50We're not going to be taking market share away from anyone because of the way these

05:54these drugs are used by oncologists.

05:57They go from one to the next. There's no order.

05:59There's only two really two other main principal competitors in the market or for Lemphir.

06:05So all of it adds up to something really positive.

06:09The pricing on the drug is three hundred thousand dollars for about a six week course of therapy.

06:15Wow. You also have the most fascinating part of what you kind of mentioned here today is the fact that you have two phase three

06:21technologies with major markets and upcoming catalysts and less than a month out is what I'm hearing.

06:26Right. So so everybody should also know that the the market potential market size for starting with Menoloc,

06:35will be once it's approved, will be the one only one of its kind on the market.

06:41And as a result, we believe the market potential is about two billion dollars, roughly half here, half in the United States.

06:49Lemphir, that's again, it's a smaller market.

06:51There are only three thousand patients throughout the United States, but the market potential there is somewhere around three hundred to four

06:58hundred million and will be, as I said, additive to the market.

07:02Well, looking forward to hearing about those milestones as you achieve them.

07:06Thank you so much, Leonard, for your time here today.

07:07I appreciate you sharing insights on Citi's pharmaceuticals and, of course, the future direction that it's headed.

07:12I appreciate it. Thank you very much for taking the time.

07:14Appreciate it.

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