UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

[X]   QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2014

 

[  ]   TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

Commission file number:  000-51476

 

LIXTE BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware   20-2903526
(State or other jurisdiction of   (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)   Identification Number)

 

248 Route 25A, No. 2

East Setauket, New York 11733

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

(631) 942-7959

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Not applicable

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. 

Yes [X] No [  ]

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). 

Yes [X] No [  ]

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

 

Large accelerated filer [  ] Accelerated filer [  ]
Non-accelerated filer [  ] Smaller reporting company [X]

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). 

Yes [  ] No [X]

 

As of April 30, 2014, the Company had 45,483,097 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value, issued and outstanding.

 

Documents incorporated by reference: None

 

 

 

 
 

 

LIXTE BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS, INC.
AND SUBSIDIARY
(a development stage company)

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

   

Page
Number

PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION    
     
Item 1. Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements   F-1
     
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets - March 31, 2014 (Unaudited) and December 31, 2013   F-1
     
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - Three Months Ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, and Period from August 9, 2005 (Inception) to March 31, 2014 (Cumulative)   F-2
     

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficiency) - August 9, 2005 (Inception) to March 31, 2014 (Unaudited)

  F-3
     
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) - Three Months Ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, and Period from August 9, 2005 (Inception) to March 31, 2014 (Cumulative)   F-5
     
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited) - Three Months Ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, and Period from August 9, 2005 (Inception) to March 31, 2014 (Cumulative)   F-7
     
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations   4
     
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk   13
     
Item 4. Controls and Procedures   13
     
PART II - OTHER INFORMATION    
     
Item 1. Legal Proceedings   14
     
Item 1A. Risk Factors   14
     
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds   14
     
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities   14
     
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures   14
     
Item 5. Other Information   14
     
Item 6. Exhibits   14
     
SIGNATURES   15

 

2
 

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For example, statements regarding the Company’s financial position, business strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations, and assumptions and predictions about future product demand, supply, manufacturing, costs, marketing and pricing factors are all forward-looking statements. These statements are generally accompanied by words such as “intend,” anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “potential(ly),” “continue,” “forecast,” “predict,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect” or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. The Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, based on information available to it on the date hereof, but the Company cannot provide assurances that these assumptions and expectations will prove to have been correct or that the Company will take any action that the Company may presently be planning. However, these forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or experience may differ materially from those expected or anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, regulatory policies, available cash, research and development results, competition from other similar businesses, and market and general economic factors. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

 

3
 

 

PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

ITEM 1. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

LIXTE BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS, INC.
AND SUBSIDIARY

(a development stage company)

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

    March 31, 2014     December 31, 2013  
    (Unaudited)        
             
ASSETS                
Current assets:                
Cash   $ 115,440     $ 475,019  
Money market funds     6,135       6,135  
Advances on research and development contract services     28,930       33,880  
Prepaid expenses and other current assets     37,362       43,006  
Total current assets     187,867       558,040  
Total assets   $ 187,867     $ 558,040  
                 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY                
Current liabilities:                
Accounts payable and accrued expenses   $ 81,025     $ 107,774  
Research and development contract liabilities, including $24,863 and $34,398 to a related party at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively     36,473       47,283  
Liquidated damages payable under registration rights agreement     74,000       74,000  
Due to stockholder     92,717       92,717  
Total current liabilities     284,215       321,774  
                 
Commitments and contingencies                
                 
Stockholders’ equity (deficiency):                
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; authorized – 10,000,000 shares; issued – none            
Common stock, $0.0001 par value; authorized – 100,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding – 41,583,097 shares     4,158       4,158  
Additional paid-in capital     13,780,282       13,184,081  
Deficit accumulated during the development stage     (13,880,788 )     (12,951,973 )
Total stockholders’ equity (deficiency)     (96,348 )     236,266  
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity   $ 187,867     $ 558,040  

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

F- 1
 

 

LIXTE BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS, INC.
AND SUBSIDIARY

(a development stage company)

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)

 

          Period from  
          August 9, 2005  
    Three Months Ended     (Inception) to  
    March 31,     March 31, 2014  
    2014     2013     (Cumulative)  
                   
Revenues   $     $     $  
                         
Costs and expenses:                        
General and administrative costs, including $386,878 and $47,298 to related parties for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and $3,150,787 for the period from August 9, 2005 to March 31, 2014 (cumulative).     553,008       167,642       6,280,907  
Depreciation                 1,909  
Research and development costs, including $85,471 and $62,426 to related parties for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and $633,743 for the period from August 9, 2005 to March 31, 2014 (cumulative).     162,771       166,305       5,612,449  
Reverse merger costs                 50,000  
Total costs and expenses     715,779       333,947       11,945,265  
Loss from operations     (715,779 )     (333,947 )     (11,945,265 )
Interest income     1       1       27,438  
Interest expense                 (2,469 )
Fair value of warrant extensions     (78,617 )           (1,418,048 )
Fair value of warrant discount     (134,420 )           (468,444 )
Liquidated damages under registration rights agreement                 (74,000 )
Net loss   $ (928,815 )   $ (333,946 )   $ (13,880,788 )
                         
Net loss per common share – Basic and diluted   $ (0.02 )   $ (0.01 )        
                         
Weighted average common shares outstanding – Basic and diluted     41,583,097       41,583,097          

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

F- 2
 

 

LIXTE BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS, INC.
AND SUBSIDIARY

(a development stage company)

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIENCY)

 

Period from August 9, 2005 (Inception) to March 31, 2014

 

                Advances           Deficit Accumulated     Total  
                Under     Additional     During the     Stockholders’  
    Common Stock     Equity     Paid-in     Development     Equity  
    Shares     Amount     Financing     Capital     Stage     (Deficiency)  
Balance, August 9, 2005 (inception)         $     $     $     $     $  
Shares issued to founding stockholder     19,021,786       1,902             (402 )           1,500  
Net loss                             (16,124 )     (16,124 )
Balance, December 31, 2005     19,021,786       1,902             (402 )     (16,124 )     (14,624 )
Shares issued in connection with reverse merger transaction     4,005,177       401             62,099             62,500  
Shares issued in private placement, net of offering costs     3,555,220       355             969,017             969,372  
Stock-based compensation expense                       97,400             97,400  
Net loss                             (562,084 )     (562,084 )
Balance, December 31, 2006     26,582,183       2,658             1,128,114       (578,208 )     552,564  
Shares issued in private placement, net of offering costs     999,995       100             531,220             531,320  
Stock-based compensation expense     250,000       25             890,669             890,694  
Stock-based research and development expense                       50,836             50,836  
Net loss                             (1,648,488 )     (1,648,488 )
Balance, December 31, 2007     27,832,178       2,783             2,600,839       (2,226,696 )     376,926  
Stock-based compensation expense                       357,987             357,987  
Stock-based research and development expense     100,000       10             213,051             213,061  
Net loss                             (1,271,522 )     (1,271,522 )
Balance, December 31, 2008     27,932,178       2,793             3,171,877       (3,498,218 )     (323,548 )
Shares issued in private placements, net of offering costs     2,420,000       242             1,096,808             1,097,050  
Advances under equity financing                 1,200,000                   1,200,000  
Stock-based compensation expense     150,000       15             745,965             745,980  
Stock-based research and development expense                       132,933             132,933  
Net loss                             (1,551,333 )     (1,551,333 )
Balance, December 31, 2009     30,502,178     $ 3,050     $ 1,200,000     $ 5,147,583     $ (5,049,551 )   $ 1,301,082  

 

(Continued)

 

F- 3
 

 

LIXTE BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS, INC.

AND SUBSIDIARY

(a development stage company)

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIENCY) (Continued)

 

Period from August 9, 2005 (Inception) to March 31, 2014

 

                Advances           Deficit Accumulated     Total  
                Under     Additional     During the     Stockholders’  
    Common Stock     Equity     Paid-in     Development     Equity  
    Shares     Amount     Financing     Capital     Stage     (Deficiency)  
Shares issued in private placements, net of offering costs     4,575,000     $ 458     $ (1,200,000 )   $ 2,287,042     $     $ 1,087,500  
Stock-based compensation expense                       160,712             160,712  
Stock-based research and development expense                       67,222             67,222  
Net loss                             (880,250 )     (880,250 )
Balance, December 31, 2010     35,077,178       3,508             7,662,559       (5,929,801 )     1,736,266  
Exercise of stock options     181,964       18             4,982             5,000  
Stock-based compensation expense                       204,898             204,898  
Stock-based research and development expense                       982             982  
Fair value of warrant extension                       199,839             199,839  
Net loss                             (2,067,964 )     (2,067,964 )
Balance, December 31, 2011     35,259,142       3,526             8,073,260       (7,997,765 )     79,021  
Exercise of stock options     241,955       24             33,309             33,333  
Exercise of stock warrants     6,082,000       608             2,467,642             2,468,250  
Stock-based compensation expense                       723,554             723,554  
Stock-based research and development expense                       293,450             293,450  
Fair value of warrant discount                         334,024             334,024  
Fair value of warrant extensions                       1,139,592             1,139,592  
Net loss                             (3,579,366 )     (3,579,366 )
Balance, December 31, 2012     41,583,097       4,158             13,064,831       (11,577,131 )     1,491,858  
Stock-based compensation expense                       119,250             119,250  
Net loss                             (1,374,842 )     (1,374,842 )
Balance, December 31, 2013     41,583,097       4,158             13,184,081       (12,951,973 )     236,266  
Fair value of warrant extensions                       78,617             78,617  
Fair value of warrant discount                       134,420             134,420  
Stock-based compensation expense                       383,164             383,164  
Net loss                             (928,815 )     (928,815 )
Balance, March 31, 2014 (Unaudited)     41,583,097     $ 4,158     $     $ 13,780,282     $ (13,880,788 )   $ (96,348 )

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

  

F- 4
 

 

LIXTE BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS, INC.
AND SUBSIDIARY

(a development stage company)

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited)

 

          Period from  
          August 9, 2005  
    Three Months Ended     (Inception) to  
    March 31,     March 31, 2014  
    2014     2013     (Cumulative)  
                   
Cash flows from operating activities:                        
Net loss   $ (928,815 )   $ (333,946 )   $ (13,880,788 )
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:                        
Depreciation                 1,909  
Stock-based compensation expense included in general and administrative costs     380,628       53,037       3,680,728  
Stock-based compensation expense included in research and development costs     2,536             761,145  
Fair value of warrant extensions     78,617             1,418,048  
Fair value of warrant discount     134,420             468,444  
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:                        
(Increase) decrease in -                        
Advances on research and development contract services     4,950       (14,510 )     (28,930 )
Prepaid expenses and other current assets     5,644       5,893       (37,362 )
Increase (decrease) in -                        
Accounts payable and accrued expenses     (26,749 )     (7,531 )     81,025  
Liquidated damages payable under registration rights agreement                 74,000  
Research and development contract liabilities     (10,810 )     16,517       36,473  
Net cash used in operating activities     (359,579 )     (280,540 )     (7,425,308 )
                         
Cash flows from investing activities:                        
(Increase) decrease in money market funds           (1 )     (6,135 )
Purchase of office equipment                 (1,909 )
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities           (1 )     (8,044 )
                         
Cash flows from financing activities:                        
Proceeds from exercise of stock options                 38,333  
Proceeds from exercise of warrants                 2,468,250  
Proceeds from sale of common stock to consulting firm                 250  
Proceeds from sale of common stock to founder                 1,500  
Proceeds from issuance of notes payable to consultant                 200,000  
Repayment of notes payable to consultant                 (200,000 )
Cash acquired in reverse merger transaction                 62,500  
Gross proceeds from sale of securities                 5,331,389  
Payment of private placement offering costs                 (446,147 )
Advances received from stockholder                 92,717  
Net cash provided by financing activities   $     $     $ 7,548,792  

 

(Continued)

 

F- 5
 

  

LIXTE BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS, INC.

AND SUBSIDIARY   

(a development stage company) 

 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited)

(Continued)

   

          Period from  
          August 9, 2005  
    Three Months Ended     (Inception) to  
    March 31,     March 31, 2014  
    2014     2013     (Cumulative)  
                   
Cash:                        
Net increase (decrease)   $ (359,579 )   $ (280,541 )   $ 115,440  
Balance at beginning of period     475,019       1,655,122        
Balance at end of period   $ 115,440     $ 1,374,581     $ 115,440  
                         
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:                        
Cash paid for -                        
Interest   $     $     $ 2,469  
Income taxes   $     $     $  
                         
Non-cash financing activities:                        
Decrease in advances under equity financing   $     $     $ 1,200,000  
Aggregate exercise price of warrants and options exercised on a cashless basis   $     $     $ 193,598  

 

See accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

F- 6
 

 

LIXTE BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS, INC.

AND SUBSIDIARY

(a development stage company)

 

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited)

 

Three Months Ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, and
Period from August 9, 2005 (Inception) to March 31, 2014 (Cumulative)

 

1. Basis of Presentation

 

The condensed consolidated financial statements of Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its wholly-owned Delaware subsidiary, Lixte Biotechnology, Inc. (collectively, the “Company”), at March 31, 2014, for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, and for the period from August 9, 2005 (inception) to March 31, 2014 (cumulative), are unaudited. In the opinion of management of the Company, all adjustments (including normal recurring adjustments) have been made that are necessary to present fairly the financial position of the Company as of March 31, 2014, the results of its operations for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, and for the period from August 9, 2005 (inception) to March 31, 2014 (cumulative), and its cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, and for the period from August 9, 2005 (inception) to March 31, 2014 (cumulative). Operating results for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for a full fiscal year. The condensed balance sheet at December 31, 2013 has been derived from the Company’s audited financial statements at such date.

 

The statements and related notes have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles have been omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and other information included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, as filed with the SEC.

 

2. Business Operations

 

Business

 

The Company is engaged in research and development activities with respect to anti-cancer treatments and other common non-malignant diseases. The Company is considered a “development stage company” under current accounting standards, as it has not yet commenced any revenue-generating operations, does not have any cash flows from operations, and is dependent on debt and equity funding to finance its operations.

 

The Company’s common stock is traded on the OTCQB operated by the OTC Markets under the symbol “LIXT”.

 

Operating Plans

 

The Company’s primary focus is developing new treatments for human cancers for which better therapies are urgently needed. The scope of potential applications of the Company’s products has expanded to other common non-malignant diseases, including vascular diseases (heart attacks and stroke, diabetes, and genetic diseases, such as Gaucher’s disease) in which errors in normal cellular processing lead to loss of functions important to normal cell function. This has occurred because the targets selected by the Company have multiple functions in the cell, which when altered result in different disorders that may benefit by treatment from the Company’s products.

 

The Company’s drug discovery process is based on discerning clues to potential new targets for disease treatments reported in the increasingly large body of literature identifying the molecular variants which characterize human cancers and other non-cancer disorders. The Company designs drugs for which there are existing data suggesting that they may affect the altered pathways of the cancer cell and may be given safely to humans. The Company seeks to rapidly arrive at patentable structures through analysis of the literature rather than screening of thousands of structures for activity against a particular biochemical pathway.

 

This approach has led to the development of two classes of drugs for the treatment of cancer, protein phosphatase inhibitors (PTase-i), designated by the Company as the LB-100 series of compounds, and histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), designated by the Company as the LB-200 series of compounds. Compounds of both types also have potential use in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The LB-100 series consists of novel structures, which have the potential to be first in their class, and may be useful in the treatment of not only several types of cancer but also vascular and metabolic diseases. The LB-200 series contains compounds which have the potential to be the most effective in its class and may be useful for the treatment of chronic hereditary diseases, such as Gaucher’s disease, in addition to cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

 

F- 7
 

 

The Company has demonstrated that lead compounds of both series of drugs are active against a broad spectrum of human cancers in cell culture and against several types of human cancers in animal models. The research on new drug treatment was initiated in 2006 with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (“NINDS”) of the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (“CRADA”) effective March 22, 2006. The research at NINDS was led by Dr. Zhengping Zhuang, an internationally recognized investigator in the molecular pathology of cancer. The initial focus of the CRADA was on the most common and uniformly fatal brain tumor of adults, glioblastoma multiforme (“GBM”). The work at NIH was then extended to the most common brain tumor of children, medulloblastoma, and to the most common extracranial solid tumor of children, neuroblastoma. The CRADA was extended through a series of amendments and remained in effect until April 1, 2013, when it terminated as scheduled.

 

On August 16, 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “PTO”) awarded a patent to the Company for its lead compound, LB-100, as well as for a number of structurally related compounds. On November 15, 2011, the PTO awarded a patent to the Company for a lead compound in the LB-200 series and a compound in the LB-100 series as neuroprotective agents for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. On March 27, 2012, the PTO awarded a patent to the Company for its lead compound LB-201, as well as for a number of structurally related compounds. Patent applications on these compounds and their use are pending world-wide.

 

The Company’s primary objective has been to bring one lead compound of the LB-100 series to clinical trial. In 2012, the Company completed the pre-clinical studies required to prepare an Investigation New Drug (“IND”) application to the FDA to conduct a Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100, and engaged Theradex Systems, Inc. (“Theradex”), an international contract research organization (“CRO”) that provides professional services for the clinical research and development of pharmaceutical compounds, to be responsible for the clinical development of the Company’s lead compound, LB-100, and to prepare an IND application for filing with the FDA.

 

The Company filed an IND application with the FDA on April 30, 2012, and on July 24, 2012, the FDA notified the Company that it would allow initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100. The purpose of the clinical trial is to demonstrate that LB-100 can be administered safely to human beings at a dose and at a frequency that achieves the desired pharmacologic effect; in this case, inhibition of a specific enzyme, without being associated with toxicities considered unacceptable.

 

The Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100 began in April 2013 with the entry of patients into the clinical trial (see NCTO 1837667 at www.clinicaltrials.gov) and was initiated at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, and was extended in December 2013 to include the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, both of which are Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. The Company estimates that the Phase 1 clinical trial will be completed between March and June 2015 and will cost a total of approximately $2,000,000, which will be paid to or through Theradex, the CRO responsible for the clinical development of LB-100.  Total costs charged to operations through March 31, 2014 for services paid to Theradex pursuant to this arrangement, which were first incurred in 2013, total $358,373, of which $79,652 and $48,783 were incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The final cost of the clinical trial is variable, depending upon the number of patients needed to be medically screened to determine if they meet the criteria for entry into the study and ultimately upon the total number of patients entered into the study to establish the proper doses of the drug for Phase 2 clinical trials.

 

After completion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100, the Company anticipates that the next step in the clinical development of LB-100 will be to determine its anti-cancer activity in combination with docetaxal, a standard anti-cancer drug currently on the market, against a specific type of human cancer in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Subject to the availability of funds, the Company intends to conduct a randomized clinical trial of docetaxel +/- LB-100 against a common cancer type for which single agent docetaxel is indicated, and to determine the appropriate dose of LB-100 in combination with a second cytotoxic drug for evaluation subsequently in a Phase 2 clinical trial.

 

 As a compound moves through the FDA approval process, it becomes an increasingly valuable property, but at a cost of additional investment at each stage. The Company’s approach has been to operate with a minimum of overhead, moving compounds forward as efficiently and inexpensively as possible, and to raise funds to support each of these stages as certain milestones are reached. The commencement of a Phase 1 clinical trial is a milestone in the Company’s goal of developing a successful product platform.

 

Going Concern

 

The Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements have been presented on the basis that it is a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The Company is in the development stage and has not generated any revenues from operations to date, and does not expect to do so in the foreseeable future. The Company has experienced recurring operating losses and negative operating cash flows since inception, and has financed its working capital requirements during this period primarily through the recurring sale of its equity securities and the exercise of outstanding warrants. As a result, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, in its report on the Company’s 2013 consolidated financial statements, has raised substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

 

The Company’s ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to raise additional capital and to ultimately achieve sustainable revenues and profitable operations. The Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties.

  

F- 8
 

 

At March 31, 2014, the Company had not yet commenced any revenue-generating operations. All activity through March 31, 2014 has been related to the Company’s capital raising efforts and research and development activities. As such, the Company has yet to generate any cash flows from operations, and is dependent on debt and equity funding from both related and unrelated parties to finance its operations. Prior to June 30, 2006, the Company’s cash requirements were funded by advances from the Company’s founder aggregating $92,717.

 

Because the Company is currently engaged in research at an early stage, it will likely take a significant amount of time to develop any product or intellectual property capable of generating revenues. As such, the Company’s business is unlikely to generate any sustainable revenues in the next several years, and may never do so. Even if the Company is able to generate revenues in the future through licensing its technologies or through product sales, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to achieve positive earnings and cash flows from operations.  

 

At March 31, 2014, the Company had cash and money market funds aggregating $121,575 and in April 2014, the Company raised $1,412,500 by offering a 50% discount to warrant holders as an inducement to exercise their warrants for cash through April 15, 2014. The amount and timing of future cash requirements will depend on the pace of the Company’s programs, in particular the completion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100. The Company believes that it has sufficient funds to continue with the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100 and to fund its operating plans through June 30, 2015. Accordingly, the Company will need to raise additional capital in 2015, likely in the form of equity.  Market conditions present uncertainty as to the Company’s ability to secure additional funds. There can be no assurances that the Company will be able to secure additional financing on acceptable terms or at all. If cash resources are insufficient to satisfy the Company’s ongoing cash requirements, the Company would be required to scale back or discontinue its technology and product development programs and/or clinical trials, or obtain funds, if available (although there can be no certainty), through strategic alliances that may require the Company to relinquish rights to certain of its products, or to discontinue its operations entirely.

   

After completion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100, subject to the availability of funds, the Company anticipates that next step would be to determine the anti-cancer activity of LB-100, in combination with a widely used anti-cancer drug, against a specific type of human cancer in a Phase 2 clinical trial. In addition, subject to the availability of funds, the Company intends to continue the two drug development programs currently in process, and expand its patent portfolio, including the maintenance of its applications for international protection of lead compounds of both the LB-100 and LB-200 series.

 

3. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

Principles of Consolidation

 

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of Holdings and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lixte. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

 

Cash Concentrations

 

The Company’s cash balances may periodically exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced a loss in such accounts to date. The Company maintains its accounts with financial institutions with high credit ratings. 

 

Research and Development

 

Research and development costs consist primarily of fees paid to consultants and outside service providers, patent fees and costs, and other expenses relating to the acquisition, design, development and testing of the Company’s treatments and product candidates.

 

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred over the life of the underlying contracts on the straight-line basis, unless the achievement of milestones, the completion of contracted work, or other information indicates that a different expensing schedule is more appropriate. Payments made pursuant to research and development contracts are initially recorded as advances on research and development contract services in the Company’s balance sheet and then charged to research and development costs in the Company’s statement of operations as those contract services are performed. Expenses incurred under research and development contracts in excess of amounts advanced are recorded as research and development contract liabilities in the Company’s balance sheet, with a corresponding charge to research and development costs in the Company’s statement of operations. The Company reviews the status of its research and development contracts on a quarterly basis.

 

F- 9
 

 

Patent Costs

 

Due to the significant uncertainty associated with the successful development of one or more commercially viable products based on the Company’s research efforts and any related patent applications, all patent costs, including patent-related legal and filing fees, are expensed as incurred. Patent costs were $67,743 and $96,679 for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and $1,882,425 for the period from August 9, 2005 (inception) to March 31, 2014 (cumulative). Patent costs are included in research and development costs in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.

 

Royalties

 

Pursuant to a Patent License Agreement with the NIH that provides the Company with an exclusive license for all patents submitted jointly with the NIH under the CRADA, various categories of royalties at various rates and amounts are payable, including minimum annual royalties (subject to an offset for royalties from net sales), royalties on net sales, royalties based on the achievement of certain benchmarks, and royalties based on granting sublicense agreements, with respect to joint patents. Such royalties are accrued and paid when they become legal obligations, and are charged to general and administrative costs.

 

Concentration of Risk

 

The Company periodically contracts with directors, including companies controlled by or associated with directors, to provide consulting services related to the Company’s research and development and clinical trial activities. Agreements for these services can be for a specific time period (typically one year) or for a specific project or task, and can include both cash and non-cash compensation.  The only such contract that represents 10% or more of general and administrative or research and development costs is described below. 

 

On September 21, 2012, the Company entered into a work order agreement with Theradex, the CRO responsible for the clinical development of the Company’s lead compound, LB-100, to manage and administer the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100. The Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100, which began during April 2013 with the entry of patients into the clinical trial, is being carried out by nationally recognized comprehensive cancer centers, and is estimated to be completed between March and June 2015. The Phase 1 clinical trial is estimated to cost approximately $2,000,000, with such payments expected to be divided approximately evenly between payments to Theradex for services rendered and payments for pass-through costs for the clinical center’s laboratory costs and investigator costs. Total costs charged to operations through March 31, 2014 for services paid to Theradex pursuant to this arrangement, which were first incurred in 2013, total $358,373, of which $79,652 and $48,783 were incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, or approximately 49% and 29% of research and development costs for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The costs charged to operations for amounts paid to Theradex for services relating to the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100 are expected to represent a larger percentage of total research and development costs during the fiscal years ending December 31, 2014 and 2015 as compared to prior fiscal years. Costs pursuant to this agreement are included in research and development costs in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations. On May 2, 2011, Dr. Robert B. Royds, the founder, Chairman of the Board and Medical Director of Theradex, was appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Royds died on March 23, 2013. The death of Dr. Royds is not expected to have any impact on the management and administration of the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100.

 

In addition to the above described agreement with Theradex, the Company has also from time to time engaged Theradex to assist the Company in bringing LB-100 through the FDA approval process and to provide other services. Total fees charged to operations for services paid to Theradex pursuant to such engagements were $5,819 and $7,393 for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, or approximately 4% and 4% of research and development costs for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and are included in research and development costs in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.

 

Income Taxes

 

The Company accounts for income taxes under an asset and liability approach for financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Accordingly, the Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected impact of differences between the financial statements and the tax basis of assets and liabilities.

 

The Company has elected to deduct research and development costs on a current basis for federal income tax purposes. For federal tax purposes, start-up and organization costs were deferred until January 1, 2008 at which time the Company began to amortize such costs over a 180-month period.

 

F- 10
 

 

The Company records a valuation allowance to reduce its deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. In the event the Company was to determine that it would be able to realize its deferred tax assets in the future in excess of its recorded amount, an adjustment to the deferred tax assets would be credited to operations in the period such determination was made. Likewise, should the Company determine that it would not be able to realize all or part of its deferred tax assets in the future, an adjustment to the deferred tax assets would be charged to operations in the period such determination was made.

 

For federal income tax purposes, net operating losses can be carried forward for a period of 20 years until they are either utilized or until they expire.

 

On January 1, 2007, the Company adopted accounting rules which address the determination of whether tax benefits claimed or expected to be claimed on a tax return should be recorded in the financial statements. Under these rules, the Company may recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such a position are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. These accounting rules also provide guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and penalties on income taxes, accounting in interim periods and requires increased disclosures. As of March 31, 2014, no liability for unrecognized tax benefits was required to be recorded.

 

The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and is subject to income tax examinations by federal tax authorities for the year 2009 and thereafter. The Company’s policy is to record interest and penalties on uncertain tax provisions as income tax expense. As of March 31, 2014, the Company has no accrued interest or penalties related to uncertain tax positions.

 

Stock-Based Compensation

 

The Company periodically issues stock options and warrants to officers, directors and consultants for services rendered. Options vest and expire according to terms established at the grant date.

 

The Company accounts for stock-based payments to officers and directors by measuring the cost of services received in exchange for equity awards based on the grant date fair value of the awards, with the cost recognized as compensation expense in the Company’s financial statements on a straight-line basis over the vesting period of the awards.

 

The Company accounts for stock-based payments to consultants by determining the value of the stock compensation based upon the measurement date at either (a) the date at which a performance commitment is reached or (b) at the date at which the necessary performance to earn the equity instruments is complete.

 

Options granted to members of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Committee and to outside consultants are revalued each reporting period to determine the amount to be recorded as an expense in the respective period. As the options vest, they are valued on each vesting date and an adjustment is recorded for the difference between the value already recorded and the then current value on the date of vesting.

 

Earnings Per Share

 

The Company’s computation of earnings per share (“EPS”) includes basic and diluted EPS. Basic EPS is measured as the income (loss) available to common shareholders divided by the weighted average common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS is similar to basic EPS but presents the dilutive effect on a per share basis of potential common shares (e.g., warrants and options) as if they had been converted at the beginning of the periods presented, or issuance date, if later. Potential common shares that have an anti-dilutive effect (i.e., those that increase income per share or decrease loss per share) are excluded from the calculation of diluted EPS.

 

Loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the respective periods. Basic and diluted loss per common share is the same for all periods presented because all warrants and stock options outstanding are anti-dilutive.

 

At March 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company excluded the outstanding securities summarized below, which entitle the holders thereof to acquire shares of common stock, from its calculation of earnings per share, as their effect would have been anti-dilutive.

 

    2014     2013  
             
Warrants     6,828,800       6,828,800  
Stock options     7,025,000       3,650,000  
Total     13,853,800       10,478,800  

 

F- 11
 

 

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

 

The carrying amounts of cash, money market funds, advances on research and development contract services, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable and accrued expenses, research and development contract liabilities, liquidated damages payable under registration rights agreement and due to stockholder approximate their respective fair values due to the short-term nature of these items.

 

Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-08, Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant and Equipment (Topic 360). This guidance amends the requirements for reporting for discontinued operations and requires additional disclosures about discontinued operations. Under the new guidance, only disposals representing a strategic shift in operations or that have a major effect on the Company’s operations and financial results should be presented as discontinued operations. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2014. The Company does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

On February 26, 2014, the FASB affirmed changes in a November 2013 Exposure Draft, Development Stage Entities (Topic 915): Elimination of Certain Financial Reporting Requirements, and directed the FASB staff to draft a final ASU for vote by the FASB Board. This new accounting guidance is intended to reduce the cost and complexity in financial reporting by eliminating inception-to-date information from the financial statements and footnotes of development stage entities.

 

Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, authoritative guidance, if currently adopted, would have a material impact on the Company’s financial statement presentation or disclosures.

 

4. Common Stock and Common Stock Warrants

 

On January 28, 2014, the Company’s Board of Directors extended to June 30, 2014 outstanding warrants to acquire 1,748,800 shares of the Company’s common stock exercisable at $0.50 per share that were issued to investors and the placement agent in connection with private placements that closed on February 10, 2009, March 2, 2009 and April 6, 2009. On September 30, 2012, the Company had previously extended all other outstanding warrants to June 30, 2014. Included in the January 2014 extension were warrants to acquire 815,920 shares of common stock scheduled to expire on February 10, 2014, warrants to acquire 312,880 shares of common stock scheduled to expire on March 2, 2014, and warrants to acquire 620,000 shares of common stock scheduled to expire on April 6, 2014. The difference in the fair value of the warrants immediately before and after the grant of the extensions, as calculated pursuant to the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, was determined to be $78,617 (average of $0.04 per share), and such amount was charged to operations on January 28, 2014. The fair value of the warrant extensions was calculated using the following input variables: stock price - $0.15 per share; exercise price - $0.50 per share; expected life – 13 to 153 days; expected volatility – 262%; expected dividend yield - 0%; risk-free interest rate – 1.51%.

 

On January 28, 2014, the Company offered to all of its warrant holders an inducement to exercise early by reducing the exercise price of currently outstanding warrants by 50%, if exercised on a cash basis by April 15, 2014. The exercise prices of the warrants before reduction were $0.50 per share (2,253,800 warrants) and $0.75 per share (4,575,000 warrants). The difference in the fair value of the warrants immediately before and after the grant of the discount, as calculated pursuant to the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, was determined to be $134,420 (an average of $0.02 per share), and such amount was charged to operations on January 28, 2014. The fair value of the warrant extensions was calculated using the following input variables: stock price - $0.15 per share; exercise price - $0.50 and $0.75 per share; expected life – 77 days (the period during which the discount was available); expected volatility – 262%; expected dividend yield - 0%; risk-free interest rate – 1.51%.

 

F- 12
 

 

As a result of the discount warrant offer, warrants to acquire 3,900,000 shares of the Company’s common stock were exercised in April 2014 at discounts ranging from $0.25 to $0.375 per share. The exercise of the warrants generated aggregate net proceeds to the Company of $1,412,500.

 

A summary of common stock warrant activity, including warrants to purchase common stock that were issued in conjunction with the Company’s private placements, is presented in the tables below. For presentation purposes, warrants that were extended are considered as outstanding for the entire period in which such extension occurs.

 

                Weighted  
                Average  
          Weighted     Remaining  
    Number     Average     Contractual  
    of     Exercise     Life  
    Shares     Price     (in Years)  
Warrants outstanding at December 31, 2012     6,828,800     $ 0.667          
Issued                    
Exercised                    
Expired                    
Warrants outstanding at December 31, 2013     6,828,800       0.667          
Issued                    
Exercised                    
Expired                    
Warrants outstanding at March 31, 2014     6,828,800     $ 0.667       0.25  
                         
Warrants exercisable at December 31, 2013     6,659,840     $ 0.672          
Warrants exercisable at March 31, 2014     6,659,840     $ 0.672       0.25  

  

The exercise prices of common stock warrants outstanding and exercisable are as follows at March 31, 2014:

 

      Warrants     Warrants  
Exercise     Outstanding     Exercisable  
Prices     (Shares)     (Shares)  
               
$ 0.500       2,253,800       2,084,840  
$ 0.750       4,575,000       4,575,000  
          6,828,800       6,659,840  

 

Based on a fair market value of $0.20 per share on March 31, 2014, there were no exercisable but unexercised in-the-money common stock warrants on that date. Accordingly, there was no intrinsic value attributed to exercisable but unexercised common stock warrants at March 31, 2014.

 

Based on a fair market value of $0.13 per share on December 31, 2013, there were no exercisable but unexercised in-the-money common stock warrants on that date. Accordingly, there was no intrinsic value attributed to exercisable but unexercised common stock warrants at December 31, 2013

 

At March 31, 2014, warrants exercisable do not include warrants to acquire 168,960 shares of common stock that are contingent upon the exercise of warrants contained in units sold as part of the third private placement, as described above.

 

Information with respect to the equity transactions, including private placements of the Company’s securities in 2006 through 2012 are included in the financial statements and related footnotes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, as filed with the SEC.

 

F- 13
 

 

5. Money Market Funds — Fair Value

 

Money market funds at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 consisted of investments in shares of Morgan Stanley New York Municipal Money Market Trust with a market value of $6,135. The Morgan Stanley New York Municipal Money Market Trust is an open-end fund incorporated in the USA. The Fund’s objective is as high level of daily income exempt from federal and New York income tax as is consistent with stability of principal and liquidity. The Fund invests in high quality, short- term municipal obligations that pay interest exempt from federal and NY taxes.

 

The authoritative guidance with respect to fair value established a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three levels, and requires that assets and liabilities carried at fair value be classified and disclosed in one of three categories, as presented below. Disclosure as to transfers in and out of Levels 1 and 2, and activity in Level 3 fair value measurements, is also required.

 

Level 1: quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for an identical asset or liability that the Company has the ability to access as of the measurement date. Financial assets and liabilities utilizing Level 1 inputs include active-exchange traded securities and exchange-based derivatives.

 

Level 2: inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are directly observable for the asset or liability or indirectly observable through corroboration with observable market data. Financial assets and liabilities utilizing Level 2 inputs include fixed income securities, non-exchange based derivatives, mutual funds, and fair-value hedges.

 

Level 3: unobservable inputs for the asset or liability are only used when there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability at the measurement date. Financial assets and liabilities utilizing Level 3 inputs include infrequently-traded non-exchange-based derivatives and commingled investment funds, and are measured using present value pricing models.

 

The Company determines the level in the fair value hierarchy within which each fair value measurement falls in its entirety, based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. In determining the appropriate levels, the Company performs an analysis of the assets and liabilities at each reporting period end.

  

Money market funds are the only financial instrument that is measured and recorded at fair value on the Company’s balance sheet on a recurring basis.

  

The following table presents money market funds at their level within the fair value hierarchy at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013.

 

    Total     Level 1     Level 2     Level 3  
                         
March 31, 2014:                                
Money market funds   $ 6,135     $ 6,135     $     $  
                                 
December 31, 2013:                                
Money market funds   $ 6,135     $ 6,135     $     $  

 

6. Related Party Transactions

 

Advances from the Company’s founding stockholder and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. John Kovach, are non-interest bearing and are due on demand. At March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, such stockholder advances outstanding and due to Dr. Kovach totaled $92,717.

 

The Company’s office facilities have been provided without charge by Dr. Kovach. Such costs were not material to the financial statements and, accordingly, have not been reflected therein.

 

Dr. Kovach was paid a salary of $15,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, and $182,500 for the period from August 9, 2005 (inception) to March 31, 2014 (cumulative), which amounts are included in general and administrative costs in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.

 

Dr. Kovach is not involved in other business activities but could, in the future, become involved in other business opportunities that become available. Accordingly, Dr. Kovach may face a conflict in selecting between the Company and his other business interests. The Company has not yet formulated a policy for the resolution of such potential conflicts.

 

F- 14
 

 

On April 7, 2010, the Company entered into an agreement with Dr. Mel Sorensen, a former member of the Company’s Board of Directors, for consultation and advice regarding the preparation and strategy for obtaining FDA allowance of a clinical trial of the lead compound of the LB-100 series. The initial term of the agreement was for one year and provided for an annual fee of $25,000, payable in two installments of $12,500 on April 15, 2010 and October 15, 2010. On February 18, 2011, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a one-year extension of the agreement for an additional annual fee of $25,000, payable in two installments of $12,500 on April 15, 2011 and October 15, 2011. On May 21, 2012, the Company entered into a new agreement with Dr. Sorensen for continuing consultation and advice. The term of the new agreement was for the period from May 21, 2012 to May 31, 2013 and provided for a fee of $25,000, payable in two installments of $12,500 on May 21, 2012 and December 1, 2012. Consulting and advisory fees charged to operations pursuant to these agreements were $-0- and $6,250 for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and $75,000 for the period from August 9, 2005 (inception) to March 31, 2014 (cumulative), and are included in research and development costs in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations. Effective April 16, 2014, Dr. Sorenson resigned from the Company’s Board of Directors for personal reasons.

 

Periodically, the Company has entered into agreements with Ascentage Pharma Group to conduct various studies. As of March 31, 2014, contracts with a total estimated cost of $29,025, of which $17,415 had been paid, were in process. Ascentage Pharma Group is an offshoot of Ascenta Therapeutics, of which Dr. Sorensen is the President and Chief Executive Officer and a director. Ascentage Pharma Group and Ascenta Therapeutics have a continuing business relationship and certain common shareholders. However, Dr. Sorensen does not have any direct business relationship with or ownership in Ascentage Pharma Group.

 

On September 21, 2012, the Company entered into a work order agreement with Theradex, the CRO responsible for the clinical development of the Company’s lead compound, LB-100, to manage and administer the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100. The Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100, which began during April 2013 with the entry of patients into the clinical trial, is being carried out by nationally recognized comprehensive cancer centers, and is estimated to be completed between March and June 2015. The Phase 1 clinical trial is estimated to cost approximately $2,000,000, with such payments expected to be divided approximately evenly between payments to Theradex for services rendered and payments for pass-through costs for the clinical center’s laboratory costs and investigator costs. Total costs charged to operations through March 31, 2014 for services paid to Theradex pursuant to this arrangement, which were first incurred in 2013, total $358,373, of which $79,652 and $48,783 were incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Costs pursuant to this agreement are included in research and development costs in the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations. On May 2, 2011, Dr. Robert B. Royds, the founder, Chairman of the Board and Medical Director of Theradex, was appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Royds died on March 23, 2013. The death of Dr. Royds is not expected to have any impact on the management and administration of the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100.

 

In addition to the above described agreement with Theradex, the Company has also from time to time engaged Theradex to assist the Company in bringing LB-100 through the FDA approval process and to provide other services. Total fees charged to operations for services paid to Theradex pursuant to such engagements were $5,819 and $7,393 for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and are included in research and development costs in the Company's condensed consolidated statements of operations.

 

Effective January 1, 2014, the Company entered into an Advisory Agreement with Dr. Kathleen P. Mullinix, a member of the Board of Directors of the Company, effective for an initial term of one year through December 31, 2014 to advise on business development matters.  The initial term and any subsequent one year term shall be automatically extended on an annual basis unless a notice of intent to terminate is given by either party at least 90 days before the end of the applicable term.  The Advisory Agreements provides for compensation of $25,000 annually, payable in two installments of $12,500, with the first payment due on January 31, 2014 and the second payment due on July 1, 2014. Total fees charged to operations for services paid to pursuant to this agreement were $6,250 for the three months ended March 31, 2014, and are included in general and administrative costs in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.

 

 Stock-based compensation arrangements involving members of the Company’s Board of Directors are described at Note 7. Total stock-based compensation expense relating to directors, officers and other related parties was $380,628 and $47,298 for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and $3,197,793 for the period from August 9, 2005 (inception) to March 31, 2013 (cumulative).

 

7. Stock-Based Compensation

 

The Company grants stock options as incentive compensation to directors and as compensation for the services of independent contractors and consultants of the Company.

 

The fair value of each option awarded is estimated on the date of grant and subsequent measurement dates using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Black-Scholes option valuation model was developed for use in estimating the fair value of traded options. In addition, option valuation models require the input of highly subjective assumptions including the expected stock price volatility. Because the Company’s stock options have characteristics significantly different from those of traded options, and because changes in the subjective assumptions can materially affect the fair value estimate, in management’s opinion, the existing models do not necessarily provide a reliable single measure of the fair value of its stock options. The expected dividend yield assumption is based on the Company’s expectation of dividend payouts. Expected volatilities are based on historical volatility of the Company’s stock. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. treasury yield curve in effect as of the grant date. Expected life of the options is the average of the vesting term and the full contractual term of the options.

 

New transactions during the three months ended March 31, 2014 that required an assessment of value pursuant to the Black-Scholes option-pricing model utilized the following inputs: exercise price per share - $0.50; stock price per share – $0.15; expected dividend yield – 0.00%; expected volatility – 262.0%; average risk-free interest rate – 1.51%; expected life – 5 years. For the purpose of assessing value for transactions requiring re-evaluation at March 31, 2014, the Black-Scholes option-pricing model utilized the following inputs for the three months ended March 31, 2014: exercise price per share - $0.13 to $0.50; stock price per share – $0.20; expected dividend yield – 0.00%; expected volatility – 292%; average risk-free interest rate – 1.65%; expected life – 4.8 years.

 

F- 15
 

 

There were no new transactions during the three months ended March 31, 2013 that required an assessment of value pursuant to the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. For the purpose of assessing value for transactions requiring re-evaluation at March 31, 2013 that were entered into in prior periods, the Black-Scholes option-pricing model utilized the following inputs for the three months ended March 31, 2013: exercise price per share - $0.98; stock price per share – $0.35; expected dividend yield – 0.00%; expected volatility – 155.1%; average risk-free interest rate – 0.23%; expected life – 3.25 years.

 

On June 30, 2011, the Company granted to Dr. Philip F. Palmedo, a director of the Company, stock options to purchase 200,000 shares of common stock, exercisable for a period of five years from the date of grant at $0.98 per share, which was the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on such date. The options vest ratably in equal quarterly installments of 25,000 shares beginning July 1, 2011. The fair value of these options, as calculated pursuant to the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, was initially determined to be $196,000 ($0.98 per share). During the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company recorded charges to operations of $-0- and $24,131, respectively, with respect to these options.

  

 On June 30, 2011, the Company granted to Dr. Iwao Ojima stock options to purchase 50,000 shares of common stock, exercisable for a period of five years from the date of grant at $0.98 per share, which was the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on such date. The options vest ratably in equal quarterly installments of 6,250 shares beginning July 1, 2011. The fair value of these options, as calculated pursuant to the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, was initially determined to be $49,000 ($0.98 per share). During the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company recorded charges to operations of $-0- and $5,739, respectively, with respect to these options.

    

On January 28, 2014, the Company approved a second amendment to the Company’s consulting agreement with Gil Schwartzberg dated September 12, 2007 to extend it an additional four years to January 28, 2019 and granted to Mr. Schwartzberg stock options to purchase an additional aggregate of 4,000,000 shares of common stock, exercisable for a period of the earlier of five years from the grant date or the termination of the consulting agreement at $0.50 per share, with one-half of the options (2,000,000 shares) vesting immediately and one-half of the options (2,000,000 shares) vesting on January 28, 2015. The fair value of these options, as calculated pursuant to the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, was determined to be $596,400 ($0.15 per share) on January 28, 2014, of which $298,200 is attributed to the options fully-vested on January 28, 2014 and as such was charged to operations on that date. The remaining unvested portion of the fair value of the options will be charged to operations ratably from January 28, 2014 through January 28, 2015. During the three months ended March 31, 2014, the Company recorded an additional charge to operations of $67,809 with respect to the remaining unvested portion of the options.

 

Effective May 1, 2011, in connection with his election to the Company’s Board of Directors, Dr. Robert B. Royds was granted stock options to purchase 200,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, vesting 25,000 shares on May 1, 2011, and 25,000 shares quarterly thereafter until all of the shares are vested, exercisable for a period of five years from each tranche’s vesting date, at $0.98 per share, which was the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on such date. The fair value of these options, as calculated pursuant to the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, was determined to be $196,000 ($0.98 per share), and was charged to operations ratably from May 2, 2011 through February 1, 2013. During the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company recorded charges to operations of $0 and $8,548, respectively, with respect to these options. Dr. Royds died on March 23, 2013. The stock options expired unexercised.

 

Effective September 16, 2012, in connection with her election to the Company’s Board of Directors, Dr. Kathleen P. Mullinix was granted stock options to purchase 200,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, vesting 25,000 shares on September 16, 2012, and 25,000 shares quarterly thereafter until all of the shares are vested, exercisable for a period of five years from the date of grant at $0.65 per share, which was the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on such date. The fair value of these options, as calculated pursuant to the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, was determined to be $118,000 ($0.59 per share), and is being charged to operations from September 16, 2012 through June 16, 2014. During the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company recorded charges to operations of $14,619 and $14,619, respectively, with respect to these options.

 

 On December 24, 2013, the Company entered into an agreement with NDA Consulting Corp. (“NDA”) for consultation and advice in the field of oncology research and drug development. As part of the agreement, NDA agreed to cause its president, Dr. Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., to become a member of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Committee.  In connection with this agreement, NDA was granted stock options to purchase 100,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, vesting 25,000 shares on June 24, 2014, and thereafter 25,000 shares annually on June 24, 2015, 2016 and 2017, exercisable for a period of five years from the date of grant at $0.13 per share, which was the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. The fair value of these options, as calculated pursuant to the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, was initially determined to be $12,960 ($0.13 per share), and is being charged to operations from December 24, 2013 through June 24, 2017. During the three months ended March 31, 2014, the Company recorded a charge to operations of $2,538 with respect to these options.

 

If and when the aforementioned stock options are exercised, the Company expects to satisfy such stock obligations through the issuance of authorized but unissued shares of common stock.

 

A summary of stock option activity is presented in the tables below.

 

F- 16
 

 

                Weighted  
                Average  
          Weighted     Remaining  
    Number     Average     Contractual  
    of     Exercise     Life  
    Shares     Price     (in Years)  
Options outstanding at December 31, 2012     3,750,000     $ 0.870          
Granted     100,000       0.130          
Exercised                    
Expired     (700,000 )     1.045          
Options outstanding at December 31, 2013     3,150,000       0.818          
Granted     4,000,000       0.500          
Exercised                    
Expired     (125,000 )     0.366          
Options outstanding at March 31, 2014     7,025,000     $ 0.645       3.82  
                         
Options exercisable at December 31, 2013     3,000,000     $ 0.843          
Options exercisable at March 31, 2014     4,900,000     $ 0.714       3.39  

  

Total deferred compensation expense for the outstanding value of unvested stock options was approximately $361,000 at March 31, 2014, which is being recognized subsequent to March 31, 2014 over a weighted-average period of approximately eleven months.

 

The exercise prices of common stock options outstanding and exercisable are as follows at March 31, 2014: 

 

      Options     Options  
Exercise     Outstanding     Exercisable  
Prices     (Shares)     (Shares)  
               
$ 0.130       100,000        
$ 0.333       100,000       100,000  
$ 0.500       4,175,000       2,175,000  
$ 0.650       700,000       675,000  
$ 0.980       450,000       450,000  
$ 1.000       1,500,000       1,500,000  
          7,025,000     4,900,000  

 

Based on a fair market value of $0.20 per share on March 31, 2014, there were no exercisable but unexercised in-the-money common stock options on that date. Accordingly, there was no intrinsic value attributed to exercisable but unexercised common stock warrants at March 31, 2014.

 

 Based on a fair market value of $0.13 per share on December 31, 2013, there were no exercisable but unexercised in-the-money stock options on that date. Accordingly, there was no intrinsic value attributed to exercisable but unexercised stock options at December 31, 2013. 

  

Outstanding options to acquire 2,125,000 shares of the Company’s common stock had not vested at March 31, 2014.

 

Information with respect to stock-based compensation transactions in 2006 through 2012 are included in the financial statements and related footnotes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, as filed with the SEC.

 

8.  Commitments and Contingencies

 

Effective September 19, 2008, the Company entered into a Patent License Agreement (the “PLA”) with the NIH providing the Company with an exclusive license for all patents submitted jointly with the NIH under the CRADA. The PLA provided for an initial payment of $25,000 to the NIH within 60 days of September 19, 2008, and for a minimum annual royalty of $30,000 on January 1 of each calendar year following the year in which the CRADA is terminated. The PLA also provided for the Company to pay (i) specified royalties based on net sales by the Company and its sub-licensees, reduced by the amount of the minimum annual royalty for that year, (ii) certain benchmark royalties upon the achievement of certain clinical benchmarks, and (iii) sublicensing royalties for the granting of sublicenses, with respect to joint patents. The Company paid the initial $25,000 obligation on November 10, 2008, which was charged to general and administrative costs. Due to the termination of the CRADA on April 1, 2013, the Company became obligated for a minimum annual royalty of $30,000 to the NIH beginning in 2014 and each year thereafter. As of January 31, 2014, a minimum royalty of $30,000 was due pursuant to the PLA, which was charged to general and administrative costs during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and is included in accounts payable and accrued expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2014. During April 2014, the Company advised the NIH of its intent to terminate this license.

  

F- 17
 

 

Effective October 18, 2013, the Company entered into a Materials Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (M-CRADA) with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health (NINDS, NIH) for a term of four years.  The Surgical Neurology Branch of NINDS, NIH will conduct research characterizing a variety of compounds proprietary to the Company, and will examine the compounds’ potential for anti-cancer activity, reducing neurological deficit due to ischemia and brain injury, and stabilizing catalytic function of misfolded proteins for inborn brain diseases.  Under an M-CRADA, a party provides research material, in this case proprietary compounds from the Company’s pipeline, for study by scientists at NIH.  The exchange of material is for research only and implies no endorsement of the material on the part of either party.  Under the M-CRADA the NIH grants a collaborator an exclusive option to elect an exclusive or non-exclusive commercialization license. The M-CRADA does not generate any incremental cost to the Company.

 

On September 21, 2012, the Company entered into a work order agreement with Theradex, the CRO responsible for the clinical development of the Company’s lead compound, LB-100, to manage and administer the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100. The Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100, which began during April 2013 with the entry of patients into the clinical trial, is being carried out by nationally recognized comprehensive cancer centers, and is estimated to be completed between March and June 2015. The Phase 1 clinical trial is estimated to cost approximately $2,000,000, with such payments expected to be divided approximately evenly between payments to Theradex for services rendered and payments for pass-through costs for the clinical center’s laboratory costs and investigator costs. Total costs charged to operations through March 31, 2014 for services paid to Theradex pursuant to this arrangement, which were first incurred in 2013, total $358,373, of which $79,652 and $48,783 were incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Costs pursuant to this agreement are included in research and development costs in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.

 

On December 24, 2013, the Company entered into an agreement with NDA Consulting Corp. (“NDA”) for consultation and advice in the field of oncology research and drug development. As part of the agreement, NDA agreed to cause its president, Dr. Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., to become a member of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Committee. The term of the agreement is for one year and provides for a quarterly cash fee of $4,000. Consulting and advisory fees charged to operations pursuant to this agreement totaled $4,000 during the three months ended March 31, 2014.  

 

The following table sets forth the Company’s principal cash obligations and commitments for the next five fiscal years as of March 31, 2014 aggregating $2,205,003, of which $232,090 is included in current liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2014. Amounts included in the 2014 column represent amounts due at March 31, 2014 for the remainder of the 2014 fiscal year ending December 31, 2014.

 

          Payments Due By Year  
    Total     2014     2015     2016     2017     2018  
Research and development contracts   $ 39,110     $ 39,110     $     $     $     $  
Theradex work order agreement     1,657,176       1,257,176       400,000                    
Patent license agreement     150,000       30,000       30,000       30,000       30,000       30,000  
Consulting agreement     12,000       12,000                          
Liquidated damages payable under registration rights agreement     74,000       74,000                          
Due to stockholder     92,717       92,717                          
Total   $ 2,025,003     $ 1,505,003     $ 430,000     $ 30,000     $ 30,000     $ 30,000  

 

9. Subsequent Events

 

Effective April 15, 2014, the Company received notices from certain of its warrant holders of the exercise of warrants to purchase an aggregate of 3,900,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at exercise prices ranging from $0.25 to $0.375 per share. In connection with such exercises, the Company received aggregate proceeds of $1,412,500. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the exercise of the warrants to fund its ongoing clinical trial, for maintenance of its patient portfolio and for general corporate purposes.

 

Effective April 16, 2014, Dr. Mel Sorenson resigned from the Company’s Board of Directors for personal reasons.

 

F- 18
 

 

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Overview

 

Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, including its wholly-owned Delaware subsidiary, Lixte Biotechnology, Inc. (collectively, the “Company”) is engaged in research and development activities with respect to anti-cancer treatments and other common non-malignant diseases. The Company is considered a “development stage company” under current accounting standards, as it has not yet commenced any revenue-generating operations, does not have any cash flows from operations, and is dependent on debt and equity funding to finance its operations.

 

The Company’s common stock is traded on the OTCQB operated by the OTC Markets under the symbol “LIXT”.

 

Recent Developments

 

On January 28, 2014, the Company offered to all of its warrant holders an inducement to exercise early by reducing the exercise price of currently outstanding warrants by 50%, if exercised on a cash basis by April 15, 2014. Effective April 15, 2014, the Company received notices from certain of its warrant holders of the exercise of warrants to purchase an aggregate of 3,900,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at exercise prices ranging from $0.25 to $0.375 per share. In connection with such exercises, the Company received aggregate proceeds of $1,412,500. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the exercise of the warrants to fund its ongoing clinical trial, for maintenance of its patient portfolio and for general corporate purposes.

 

Effective April 16, 2014, Dr. Mel Sorenson resigned from the Company’s Board of Directors for personal reasons.

 

Going Concern

 

The Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements have been presented on the basis that it is a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The Company is in the development stage and has not generated any revenues from operations to date, and does not expect to do so in the foreseeable future. The Company has experienced recurring operating losses and negative operating cash flows since inception, and has financed its working capital requirements during this period primarily through the recurring sale of its equity securities and the exercise of outstanding warrants. As a result, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, in its report on the Company’s 2013 consolidated financial statements, has raised substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.

 

The Company’s ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to raise additional capital and to ultimately achieve sustainable revenues and profitable operations. The Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties.

  

At March 31, 2014, the Company had not yet commenced any revenue-generating operations. All activity through March 31, 2014 has been related to the Company’s capital raising efforts and research and development activities. As such, the Company has yet to generate any cash flows from operations, and is dependent on debt and equity funding from both related and unrelated parties to finance its operations. Prior to June 30, 2006, the Company’s cash requirements were funded by advances from the Company’s founder aggregating $92,717.

 

Because the Company is currently engaged in research at an early stage, it will likely take a significant amount of time to develop any product or intellectual property capable of generating revenues. As such, the Company’s business is unlikely to generate any sustainable revenues in the next several years, and may never do so. Even if the Company is able to generate revenues in the future through licensing its technologies or through product sales, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to achieve positive earnings and cash flows from operations.  

 

At March 31, 2014, the Company had cash and money market funds aggregating $121,575 and in April 2014, the Company raised $1,412,500 by offering a 50% discount to warrant holders as an inducement to exercise their warrants for cash through April 15, 2014. The amount and timing of future cash requirements will depend on the pace of the Company’s programs, in particular the completion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100. The Company believes that it has sufficient funds to continue with the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100 and to fund its operating plans through June 30, 2015. Accordingly, the Company will need to raise additional capital in 2015, likely in the form of equity.  Market conditions present uncertainty as to the Company’s ability to secure additional funds. There can be no assurances that the Company will be able to secure additional financing on acceptable terms or at all. If cash resources are insufficient to satisfy the Company’s ongoing cash requirements, the Company would be required to scale back or discontinue its technology and product development programs and/or clinical trials, or obtain funds, if available (although there can be no certainty), through strategic alliances that may require the Company to relinquish rights to certain of its products, or to discontinue its operations entirely.

 

4
 

 

After completion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100, subject to the availability of funds, the Company anticipates that the next step would be to determine the anti-cancer activity of LB-100, in combination with a widely used anti-cancer drug, against a specific type of human cancer in a Phase 2 clinical trial. In addition, subject to the availability of funds, the Company intends to continue the two drug development programs currently in process, and expand its patent portfolio, including the maintenance of its applications for international protection of lead compounds of both the LB-100 and LB-200 series.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-08, Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant and Equipment (Topic 360). This guidance amends the requirements for reporting for discontinued operations and requires additional disclosures about discontinued operations. Under the new guidance, only disposals representing a strategic shift in operations or that have a major effect on the Company’s operations and financial results should be presented as discontinued operations. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2014. The Company does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

On February 26, 2014, the FASB affirmed changes in a November 2013 Exposure Draft, Development Stage Entities (Topic 915): Elimination of Certain Financial Reporting Requirements, and directed the FASB staff to draft a final Accounting Standards Update for vote by the FASB Board. This new accounting guidance is intended to reduce the cost and complexity in financial reporting by eliminating inception-to-date information from the financial statements of development stage entities.

 

Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, authoritative guidance, if currently adopted, would have a material impact on the Company’s financial statement presentation or disclosures.

 

Concentration of Risk

 

The Company periodically contracts with directors, including companies controlled by or associated with directors, to provide consulting services related to the Company’s research and development and clinical trial activities. Agreements for these services can be for a specific time period (typically one year) or for a specific project or task, and can include both cash and non-cash compensation.  The only such contract that represents 10% or more of general and administrative or research and development costs is described below.

 

On September 21, 2012, the Company entered into a work order agreement with Theradex, the CRO responsible for the clinical development of the Company’s lead compound, LB-100, to manage and administer the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100. The Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100, which began during April 2013 with the entry of patients into the clinical trial, is being carried out by nationally recognized comprehensive cancer centers, and is estimated to be completed between March and June 2015. The Phase 1 clinical trial is estimated to cost approximately $2,000,000, with such payments expected to be divided approximately evenly between payments to Theradex for services rendered and payments for pass-through costs for the clinical center’s laboratory costs and investigator costs. Total costs charged to operations through March 31, 2014 for services paid to Theradex pursuant to this arrangement, which were first incurred in 2013, total $358,373, of which $79,652 and $48,783 were incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, or approximately 49% and 29% of research and development costs for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The costs charged to operations for amounts paid to Theradex for services relating to the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100 are expected to represent a larger percentage of total research and development costs during the fiscal years ending December 31, 2014 and 2015 as compared to prior fiscal years. Costs pursuant to this agreement are included in research and development costs in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations. On May 2, 2011, Dr. Robert B. Royds, the founder, Chairman of the Board and Medical Director of Theradex, was appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Royds died on March 23, 2013. The death of Dr. Royds is not expected to have any impact on the management and administration of the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100.

 

In addition to the above described agreement with Theradex, the Company has also from time to time engaged Theradex to assist the Company in bringing LB-100 through the FDA approval process and to provide other services. Total fees charged to operations for services paid to Theradex pursuant to such engagements were $5,819 and $7,393 for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, or approximately 4% and 4% of research and development costs for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and are included in research and development costs in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.

 

5
 

 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

The Company prepared its condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires the use of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amount of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Management periodically evaluates the estimates and judgments made. Management bases its estimates and judgments on historical experience and on various factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates as a result of different assumptions or conditions.

 

The following critical accounting policies affect the more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

Research and Development

 

Research and development costs consist primarily of fees paid to consultants and outside service providers, patent fees and costs, and other expenses relating to the acquisition, design, development and testing of the Company’s treatments and product candidates.

 

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred over the life of the underlying contracts on the straight-line basis, unless the achievement of milestones, the completion of contracted work, or other information indicates that a different expensing schedule is more appropriate. Payments made pursuant to research and development contracts are initially recorded as advances on research and development contract services in the Company’s balance sheet and then charged to research and development costs in the Company’s statement of operations as those contract services are performed. Expenses incurred under research and development contracts in excess of amounts advanced are recorded as research and development contract liabilities in the Company’s balance sheet, with a corresponding charge to research and development costs in the Company’s statement of operations. The Company reviews the status of its research and development contracts on a quarterly basis.

 

Patent Costs

 

Due to the significant uncertainty associated with the successful development of one or more commercially viable products based on the Company’s research efforts and any related patent applications, all patent costs, including patent-related legal and filing fees, are expensed as incurred.

 

Stock-Based Compensation

  

The Company periodically issues stock options and warrants to officers, directors and consultants for services rendered. Options vest and expire according to terms established at the grant date.

 

The Company accounts for stock-based payments to officers and directors by measuring the cost of services received in exchange for equity awards based on the grant date fair value of the awards, with the cost recognized as compensation expense on the straight-line basis in the Company’s financial statements over the vesting period of the awards.

 

The Company accounts for stock-based payments to consultants by determining the value of the stock compensation based upon the measurement date at either (a) the date at which a performance commitment is reached or (b) at the date at which the necessary performance to earn the equity instruments is complete.

 

Options granted to members of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Committee and to outside consultants are revalued each reporting period to determine the amount to be recorded as an expense in the respective period. As the options vest, they are valued on each vesting date and an adjustment is recorded for the difference between the value already recorded and the then current value on the date of vesting.

 

The fair value of stock-based compensation is affected by several variables, the most significant of which are the life of the equity award, the exercise price of the security as compared to the fair market value of the common stock on the grant date, and the estimated volatility of the common stock over the term of the equity award.

 

The Company recognizes the fair value of stock-based compensation awards in general and administrative costs and in research and development costs, as appropriate, in the condensed consolidated statement of operations.

 

6
 

 

Income Taxes

 

The Company accounts for income taxes under an asset and liability approach for financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Accordingly, the Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected impact of differences between the financial statements and the tax basis of assets and liabilities.

 

The Company records a valuation allowance to reduce its deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. In the event the Company was to determine that it would be able to realize its deferred tax assets in the future in excess of its recorded amount, an adjustment to the deferred tax assets would be credited to operations in the period such determination was made. Likewise, should the Company determine that it would not be able to realize all or part of its deferred tax assets in the future, an adjustment to the deferred tax assets would be charged to operations in the period such determination was made.

 

Plan of Operation

 

General Overview of Plans

  

The Company’s original focus was the development of new treatments for the most common and most aggressive type of brain cancer of adults, glioblastoma multiforme (“GBM”), and the most common cancer of children, neuroblastoma. The Company has expanded the scope of its anti-cancer investigational activities to include the most common brain tumor of children, medulloblastoma, and also to several other types of more common cancers. This expansion of activity is based on documentation that each of two distinct types of drugs being developed by the Company has activity against cell lines of breast, colon, lung, prostate, pancreas, ovary, stomach and liver cancer, as well as against the major types of leukemias. LB-100 has now been shown to have activity in animal models of brain tumors of adults and children, and also against melanomas and sarcomas.  Studies in animal models of human melanoma, lymphoma, sarcoma, brain tumors, and the rare neuroendocrine cancer, pheochromocytoma, have demonstrated marked potentiation by LB-100 of the anti-tumor activity of the widely used standard chemotherapeutic drugs. These studies confirm that the LB-100 compounds, combined with any of several standard anti-cancer drugs, have broad activity affecting many different cell types of cancer. This is unusual and important because these compounds may be useful for treatment of cancer in general.

 

The research on brain tumors was conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (“NINDS”) of the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (“CRADA”) entered into on March 22, 2006. The CRADA was extended through a series of amendments and remained in effect until April 1, 2013. The research at NINDS was led by Dr. Zhengping Zhuang, an internationally recognized investigator in the molecular pathology of cancer who was aided by two senior research technicians supported by the Company as part of the CRADA. The goal of the CRADA was to develop more effective drugs for the treatment of GBM through the processes required to gain allowance from the FDA for clinical trials. The CRADA terminated as scheduled on April 1, 2013.

  

During 2009, the Company signed material transfer agreements with academic investigators at major cancer centers in the United States, as well as with one investigator in China with a unique animal model of a sarcoma, to expand molecular and applied studies of the anti-cancer activity of the Company’s compounds.  The Company retained the right to all discoveries made in these studies.

 

The Company’s immediate focus is to determine the safety and appropriate dose of LB-100 when used alone and when used in combination with a widely used anti-cancer drug in its Phase 1 clinical trial. The Company believes the potent activity of these drugs, in combination with standard non-specific chemotherapeutic drugs against a diverse array of common and uncommon cancers of adults and children, merits bringing this treatment to patients as rapidly as possible. If favorable treatment responses are also noted in the Phase 1 clinical trial, the Company would expect there to be increased interest by potential investors and by large pharmaceutical companies looking to add an entirely new approach to their anti-cancer drug portfolios. However, clinical benefit often is not apparent until a new compound advances to a Phase 2 clinical trial, which, if warranted, would be anticipated to follow the Phase 1 clinical trial.

 

The Company’s longer-term objective is to secure one or more strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical companies with major programs in cancer, anti-fungal treatments, and/or neuroprotective measures.

 

7
 

 

The significant diversity of the potential therapeutic value of the Company’s Series 2 compounds (LB-201 and homologs) stems from the fact that these agents modify critical pathways in cancer cells and in microorganisms such as fungi and appear to ameliorate pathologic processes that lead to brain injury caused by trauma or toxins or through as yet unknown mechanisms that underlie the major chronic neurologic diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease). 

 

Operating Plans

 

The Company’s primary focus is developing new treatments for human cancers for which better therapies are urgently needed. The scope of potential applications of the Company’s products has expanded to other common non-malignant diseases, including vascular diseases (heart attacks and stroke, diabetes, and genetic diseases, such as Gaucher’s disease) in which errors in normal cellular processing lead to loss of functions important to normal cell function. This has occurred because the targets selected by the Company have multiple functions in the cell, which when altered result in different disorders that may benefit by treatment from the Company’s products.

 

The Company’s drug discovery process is based on discerning clues to potential new targets for disease treatments reported in the increasingly large body of literature identifying the molecular variants, which characterize human cancers and other non-cancer disorders. In the past decade, there has been an unprecedented expansion in knowledge of biochemical defects in the cancer cell. The Company designs drugs for which there are existing data suggesting that they may affect the altered pathways of the cancer cell and may be given safely to humans. The Company seeks to rapidly arrive at patentable structures through analysis of the literature rather than screening of thousands of structures for activity against a particular biochemical pathway.

 

This approach has led to the development of two classes of drugs for the treatment of cancer, protein phosphatase inhibitors (PTase-i), designated by the Company as the LB-100 series of compounds, and histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), designated by the Company as the LB-200 series of compounds. Compounds of both types also have potential use in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The LB-100 series consists of novel structures, which have the potential to be first in their class, and may be useful in the treatment of not only several types of cancer but also vascular and metabolic diseases. The LB-200 series contains compounds which have the potential to be the most effective in its class and may be useful for the treatment of chronic hereditary diseases, such as Gaucher’s disease, in addition to cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. .

 

On August 16, 2011, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “PTO”) awarded a patent to the Company for its lead compound, LB-100, as well as for a number of structurally related compounds. On November 15, 2011, the PTO awarded a patent to the Company for a lead compound in the LB-200 series and a compound in the LB-100 series as neuroprotective agents for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. On March 27, 2012, the PTO awarded a patent to the Company for its lead compound, LB-201, as well as for a number of structurally related compounds. Patent applications on these compounds and their use are pending world-wide.

 

The Company has demonstrated that lead compounds of both series of drugs are active against a broad spectrum of human cancers in cell culture and against several types of human cancers in animal models. The research on new drug treatment was initiated in 2006 with the NINDS, NIH under a CRADA effective March 22, 2006. The initial focus of the CRADA was on GBM, the most common and uniformly fatal brain tumor of adults. The work at NIH was then extended to the most common brain tumor of children, medulloblastoma, and to the most common extracranial solid tumor of children, neuroblastoma. The CRADA was extended through a series of amendments and remained in effect until April 1, 2013, when it terminated as scheduled.

 

Effective treatment of brain tumors depends upon the ability of compounds to penetrate a physiological barrier known as the “blood-brain barrier”, which protects the brain from exposure to potentially toxic substances in the blood. Because there is no certainty that the Company’s compounds will be active against tumors confined to the brain, the LB-100 compounds have been studied against a variety of common and rare cancer types and have been shown to potentiate the activity of standard anti-cancer drugs in animal models of breast and pancreatic cancer, melanoma, pheochromcytomas and sarcomas. Because the LB-100 compounds appear to exert their ability to improve the effectiveness of different forms of chemotherapy and radiation therapy by inhibiting a process upon which most, if not all, cancer cell types depend on to survive treatment, the Company believes the LB-100 series of compounds may be useful against most, if not all, cancer types.

 

8
 

 

The second class of drugs under development by the Company, referred to as LB-200, is the histone deacetylase inhibitors. Many pharmaceutical companies are also developing drugs of this type, and at least two companies have HDACi approved for clinical use, in both cases for the treatment of a type of lymphoma. Despite this significant competition, the Company has demonstrated that its HDACi has broad activity against many cancer types, has neuroprotective activity, and has anti-fungal activity. In addition, these compounds have low toxicity, making them attractive candidates for development. It appears that one type of molecule has diverse effects, affecting biochemical processes that are fundamental to the life of the cell, whether they are cancer cells, nerve cells, or even fungal cells. The neuroprotective activity of the Company’s HDACi has been demonstrated in the test tube in model systems that mimic injury to brain cells, such as occurs in stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. This type of protective activity may have potential application to a broad spectrum of other chronic neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease).

 

The Company’s primary objective has been to bring one lead compound of the LB-100 series to clinical trial. In 2012, the Company completed the pre-clinical studies needed to prepare an IND application to the FDA to conduct a Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100, and engaged the CRO responsible for the clinical development of the Company’s lead compound, LB-100, to prepare an IND application for filing with the FDA. This task included preparing the detailed clinical protocol known as the “Investigator’s Brochure”, a document containing a detailed summary of all that is known about LB-100, and development of the formal IND application for submission to the FDA. The CRO also established the procedures for assuring appropriate collection and reporting of data generated during the clinical trial of LB-100 to the FDA.

 

The Company filed an IND application with the FDA on April 30, 2012, and on July 24, 2012, the FDA notified the Company that it would allow initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100. The purpose of the clinical trial is to demonstrate that LB-100 can be administered safely to human beings at a dose and at a frequency that achieves the desired pharmacologic effect; in this case, inhibition of a specific enzyme, without being associated with toxicities considered unacceptable. The Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100 is designed to determine the maximum tolerable dose of LB-100 given alone and then in combination with a standard widely use anti-cancer drug. As a prelude to determining the therapeutic effectiveness of LB-100 in a subsequent Phase 2 clinical trial of common cancers, a key goal of the initial portion of the Phase 1 clinical trial will be to demonstrate that the target enzyme of LB-100, protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), can be inhibited in humans with readily tolerable toxicity. As an anti-cancer drug, LB-100 is likely to be used at maximum tolerable doses, but for the potential treatment of non-malignant diseases, such as acute vascular diseases and metabolic diseases, lower doses may achieve therapeutic benefit by inhibition of the target enzyme, PP2A, thus opening up the possibility of a host of therapeutic applications for LB-100 and related proprietary compounds. The Company estimates that the Phase 1 clinical trial will be completed between March and June 2015 and will cost a total of approximately $2,000,000, which will be paid to or through Theradex, the CRO responsible for the clinical development of LB-100.  Total costs charged to operations through March 31, 2014 for services paid to Theradex pursuant to this arrangement, which were first incurred in 2013, total $358,373, of which $79,652 and $48,783 were incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. 

 

After completion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100, the Company anticipates that the next step in the clinical development of LB-100 will be to determine its anti-cancer activity in combination with docetaxal, a standard anti-cancer drug currently on the market, against a specific type of human cancer in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Subject to the availability of funds, the Company intends to conduct a randomized clinical trial of docetaxel +/- LB-100 against a common cancer type for which single agent docetaxel is indicated, and to determine the appropriate dose of LB-100 in combination with a second cytotoxic drug for evaluation subsequently in a Phase 2 clinical trial.

 

As a compound moves through the FDA approval process, it becomes an increasingly valuable property, but at a cost of additional investment at each stage. The Company’s approach has been to operate with a minimum of overhead, moving compounds forward as efficiently and inexpensively as possible, and to raise funds to support each of these stages as certain milestones are reached. The commencement of a Phase 1 clinical trial is a milestone in the Company’s goal of developing a successful product platform.

 

Results of Operations

 

The Company is a development stage company and had not commenced revenue-generating operations at March 31, 2014.

 

9
 

 

Three Months Ended March 31, 2014 and 2013

 

General and Administrative .  For the three months ended March 31, 2014, general and administrative costs were $553,008, which consisted of the fair value of stock options issued to directors and consultants of $380,628, consulting and professional fees of $103,265, royalties of $30,000, insurance expense of $9,538, officer’s salary and related costs of $17,069, stock transfer fees of $3,560, travel and entertainment costs of $3,208, and other operating costs of $5,740.

 

For the three months ended March 31, 2013, general and administrative costs were $167,642, which consisted of the fair value of stock options issued to directors and consultants of $53,037, consulting and professional fees of $80,369, insurance expense of $8,904, officer’s salary and related costs of $16,823, stock transfer fees of $1,995, travel and entertainment costs of $1,514, and other operating costs of $5,000.

 

General and administrative costs increased by $385,366 or 229.9% in 2014 as compared to 2013, primarily as a result of a increase of $327,591 in stock-based compensation .

 

A significant component of the fair value of stock options issued to directors and consultants of $380,628 for the three months ended March 31, 2014 was the $366,009 expense for the fair value of stock options to acquire 4,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock that were issued to Gil Schwartzberg on January 28, 2014 for his continuing contributions to the Company’s financial strategy.

 

Research and Development .  For the three months ended March 31, 2014, research and development costs were $162,771, which consisted of the vested portion of the fair value of stock options issued to a member of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Committee of $2,536, patent costs of $67,743, and contractor costs of $92,492, including $79,652 to a related party in connection with the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100.

  

For the three months ended March 31, 2013, research and development costs were $166,305, which consisted of patent costs of $96,679, contractor costs of $63,376, including $48,783 to a related party in connection with the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100, and consulting fees to a related party of $6,250.

 

Research and development costs decreased by $3,534 or 2.1% in 2014 as compared to 2013, primarily as a result of a decrease of $28,936 in patent costs, offset by an increase of $29,116 in contractor costs.

 

Fair Value of Warrant Extensions . During the three months ended March 31, 2014, the Company incurred an expense of $78,617 for the fair value of extending the expiration date of warrants to acquire 1,748,800 shares of the Company’s common stock that were purchased by investors as part of private placements that closed in 2009.

  

Fair Value of Warrant Discount . During the three months ended March 31, 2014, the Company incurred an expense of $134,420 for the fair value of discounts offered to warrant holders as an inducement for the early exercise of warrants to acquire 3,900,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. The discounts ranged from $0.25 to $0.375 per share. The exercise of the warrants generated net proceeds to the Company of $1,412,500 in April 2014.

 

Net Loss .  For the three months ended March 31, 2014, the Company incurred a net loss of $928,815, as compared to a net loss of $333,946 for the three months ended March 31, 2013.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources – March 31, 2014

 

The Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements have been presented on the basis that it is a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. The Company is in the development stage and has not generated any revenues from operations to date, and does not expect to do so in the foreseeable future.  The Company has experienced recurring operating losses and negative operating cash flows since inception, and has financed its working capital requirements through the recurring sale of its equity securities.  As a result, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, in its report on the Company’s 2013 consolidated financial statements, has raised substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern (see “Going Concern” above”).

 

At March 31, 2014, the Company had a working capital deficit of $96,348, as compared to working capital surplus of $236,266 at December 31, 2013, a decrease in working capital of $332,614 for the three months ended March 31, 2014. At March 31, 2014, the Company had cash and money market funds aggregating $121,575, as compared to $481,154 at December 31, 2013, a decrease of $359,579 for the three months ended March 31, 2014. The decrease in working capital and cash during the year ended three months 31, 2014 was the result of cash utilized by the Company in its operating activities.

 

10
 

 

The Company filed an IND application with the FDA on April 30, 2012, and on July 24, 2012, the FDA notified the Company that it would allow initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100. The purpose of the clinical trial is to demonstrate that LB-100 can be administered safely to human beings at a dose and at a frequency that achieves the desired pharmacologic effect; in this case, inhibition of a specific enzyme, without being associated with toxicities considered unacceptable. The Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100 began in April 2013 with the entry of patients into the clinical trial, and is being carried out by a nationally recognized comprehensive cancer center. The Company estimates that the Phase 1 clinical trial will be completed between March and June 2015 and will cost a total of approximately $2,000,000, which will be paid to or through Theradex, the CRO responsible for the clinical development of LB-100.  Total costs charged to operations through March 31, 2014 for services paid to Theradex pursuant to this arrangement, which were first incurred in 2013, total $358,373, of which $79,652 and $48,783 were incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, which have been included in research and development expenses in the statement of operations.

 

As a result of the exercise of warrants in April 2014, the Company believes that it has sufficient funds to continue with the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100 and to fund its operating plans through June 30, 2015. The amount and timing of future cash requirements will depend on the pace of the Company’s programs, in particular the completion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100. Accordingly, the Company will need to raise additional capital in 2015, likely in the form of equity.  Market conditions present uncertainty as to the Company’s ability to secure additional funds. There can be no assurances that the Company will be able to secure additional financing on acceptable terms or at all. If cash resources are insufficient to satisfy the Company’s ongoing cash requirements, the Company would be required to scale back or discontinue its technology and product development programs and/or clinical trials, or obtain funds, if available (although there can be no certainty), through strategic alliances that may require the Company to relinquish rights to certain of its products, or to discontinue its operations entirely.

   

Operating Activities .  For the three months ended March 31, 2014, operating activities utilized cash of $359,579, as compared to utilizing cash of $280,540 for the three months ended March 31, 2013, to support the Company’s ongoing research and development activities.

 

Investing Activities .  There were no investing activities during the three months ended March 31, 2014. For the three months ended March 31, 2013, investing activities consisted of a $1 increase in money market funds from interest earned during the period.

 

Financing Activities . There were no financing activities during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013.

 

Principal Commitments

 

Effective September 19, 2008, the Company entered into a Patent License Agreement (the “PLA”) with the NIH providing the Company with an exclusive license for all patents submitted jointly with the NIH under the CRADA. The PLA provided for an initial payment of $25,000 to the NIH within 60 days of September 19, 2008, and for a minimum annual royalty of $30,000 on January 1 of each calendar year following the year in which the CRADA is terminated. The PLA also provided for the Company to pay (i) specified royalties based on net sales by the Company and its sub-licensees, reduced by the amount of the minimum annual royalty for that year, (ii) certain benchmark royalties upon the achievement of certain clinical benchmarks, and (iii) sublicensing royalties for the granting of sublicenses, with respect to joint patents. The Company paid the initial $25,000 obligation on November 10, 2008, which was charged to general and administrative costs. Due to the termination of the CRADA on April 1, 2013, the Company became obligated for a minimum annual royalty of $30,000 to the NIH beginning in 2014 and each year thereafter. As of January 31, 2014, a minimum royalty of $30,000 was due pursuant to the PLA, which was charged to general and administrative costs during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and is included in accounts payable and accrued expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2014. During April 2014, the Company advised the NIH of its intent to terminate this license.

 

Effective October 18, 2013, the Company entered into a Materials Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (M-CRADA) with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health (NINDS, NIH) for a term of four years.  The Surgical Neurology Branch of NINDS, NIH will conduct research characterizing a variety of compounds proprietary to the Company, and will examine the compounds’ potential for anti-cancer activity, reducing neurological deficit due to ischemia and brain injury, and stabilizing catalytic function of misfolded proteins for inborn brain diseases.  Under an M-CRADA, a party provides research material, in this case proprietary compounds from the Company’s pipeline, for study by scientists at NIH.  The exchange of material is for research only and implies no endorsement of the material on the part of either party.  Under the M-CRADA the NIH grants a collaborator an exclusive option to elect an exclusive or non-exclusive commercialization license. The M-CRADA does not generate any incremental cost to the Company.

 

11
 

 

On September 21, 2012, the Company entered into a work order agreement with Theradex to manage and administer the Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100. The Phase 1 clinical trial of LB-100, which began during April 2013 with the entry of patients into the clinical trial, is being carried out by nationally recognized comprehensive cancer centers, and is estimated to be completed between March and June 2015.  The Phase 1 clinical trial is estimated to cost a total of approximately $2,000,000, with such payments expected to be divided approximately evenly between payments to Theradex for services rendered and payments for pass-through costs for the clinical center’s laboratory costs and investigator costs. Total costs charged to operations through March 31, 2014 for services paid to Theradex pursuant to this arrangement, which were first incurred in 2013, total $358,373, of which $79,652 and $48,783 were incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Costs pursuant to this agreement are included in research and development costs in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.

 

On December 24, 2013, the Company entered into an agreement with NDA Consulting Corp. (“NDA”) for consultation and advice in the field of oncology research and drug development. As part of the agreement, NDA agreed to cause its president, Dr. Daniel D. Von Hoff, M.D., to become a member of the Company’s Scientific Advisory Committee. The term of the agreement is for one year and provides for a quarterly cash fee of $4,000. The first such quarterly cash payment was made on January 12, 2014. Consulting and advisory fees charged to operations pursuant to this agreement totaled $4,000 during the three months ended March 31, 2014.  

 

The following table sets forth the Company’s principal cash obligations and commitments for the next five fiscal years as of March 31, 2014 aggregating $2,205,003, of which $232,090 is included in current liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2014. Amounts included in the 2014 column represent amounts due at March 31, 2014 for the remainder of the 2014 fiscal year ending December 31, 2014.

 

          Payments Due By Year  
    Total     2014     2015     2016     2017     2018  
Research and development contracts   $ 39,110     $ 39,110     $     $     $     $  
Theradex work order agreement     1,657,176       1,257,176       400,000                    
Patent license agreement     150,000       30,000       30,000       30,000       30,000       30,000  
Consulting agreement     12,000       12,000                          
Liquidated damages payable under registration rights agreement     74,000       74,000                          
Due to stockholder     92,717       92,717                          
Total   $ 2,025,003     $ 1,505,003     $ 430,000     $ 30,000     $ 30,000     $ 30,000  

     

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

At March 31, 2014, the Company did not have any transactions, obligations or relationships that could be considered off-balance sheet arrangements.

 

12
 

 

ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK

 

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

 

(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

The Company carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of its management, consisting of its principal executive officer and principal financial officer (who is the same person), of the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined  in  Rules  13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the  Exchange  Act (defined  below)). Based upon that evaluation, the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that, as of the end of the period covered in this report, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed in reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the required time periods and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, consisting of the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer,  to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

The Company’s management, consisting of its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, does not expect that its disclosure controls and procedures or its internal controls will prevent all error or fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Furthermore, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Due to the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. In addition, as conditions change over time, so too may the effectiveness of internal controls. However, management believes that the financial statements included in this report fairly present, in all material respects, the Company’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented.

 

(b) Changes in Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

 

The Company’s management, consisting of its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, has determined that no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as that term is defined in Rules 13(a)-15(f) and 15(d)-15(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) occurred during or subsequent to the end of the period covered in this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

13
 

 

PART II - OTHER INFORMATION

 

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

 

The Company is currently not a party to any pending or threatened legal proceedings.

 

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

 

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

 

On January 28, 2014, the Company approved a second amendment to the Company’s consulting agreement with Gil Schwartzberg to extend it to January 28, 2019 and granted to Mr. Schwartzberg stock options to purchase an additional aggregate of 4,000,000 shares of common stock, exercisable for a period of the earlier of five years from the grant date or the termination of the consulting agreement at $0.50 per share, with one-half of the options (2,000,000 shares) vesting immediately and one-half of the options (2,000,000 shares) vesting on January 28, 2015.

 

Effective April 15, 2014, the Company received notices from certain of its warrant holders of the exercise of warrants to purchase an aggregate of 3,900,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at exercise prices ranging from $0.25 to $0.375 per share. In connection with such exercises, the Company received aggregate proceeds of $1,412,500.

 

ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES

 

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

 

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION

 

Effective April 16, 2014, Dr. Mel Sorenson resigned from the Company’s Board of Directors for personal reasons.

  

ITEM 6. EXHIBITS

 

A list of exhibits required to be filed as part of this report is set forth in the Index to Exhibits, which is presented elsewhere in this document, and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

14
 

 

SIGNATURES

 

In accordance with the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

  LIXTE BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS, INC.
  (Registrant)
     
Date: May 9, 2014 By:   /s/ JOHN S. KOVACH
    John S. Kovach
    Chief Executive Officer and
    Chief Financial Officer
    (Principal financial and accounting officer)

  

15
 

 

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

The following documents are filed as part of this report:

 

Exhibit
Number

  Description of Document
     
31.1 *   Officer’s Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
     
32.1 *   Officer’s Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
     
101.INS **   XBRL Instance Document
     
101.SCH **   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
     
101.CAL **   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
     
101.LAB **   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
     
101.PRE **   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
     
101.DEF **   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

 

* Filed herewith.

** In accordance with Regulation S-T, the XBRL related information on Exhibit No. 101 to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q shall be deemed “furnished” herewith not “filed”.

 

16
 

 

 

CERTIFICATIONS OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
 UNDER SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

 

I, John S. Kovach, certify that:

 

1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc.;

 

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4. I am responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)), for the registrant and have:

 

  (a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under my supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to me by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

  (b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under my supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

  (c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report my conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

  (d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5. I have disclosed, based on my most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

  (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

  (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. 

 

Date: May 9, 2014 By:   /s/ JOHN S. KOVACH
    John S. Kovach
    Chief Executive Officer and
    Chief Financial Officer

 

 
 

 

 

CERTIFICATIONS OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
UNDER SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

 

I, John S. Kovach, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”), certify, pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, that:

 

(i) The Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2014 (the “Report”) fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

 

(ii) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

 

A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906 has been provided to the Company and will be retained by the Company and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.

 

Date: May 9, 2014 By: /s/ JOHN S. KOVACH
    John S. Kovach
    Chief Executive Officer and
    Chief Financial Officer