M Pharmaceuticals CEO Steps Down After Only Six Months
March 15, 2016
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Vancouver, British Columbia-based M Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it will be looking for a new chief executive officer. Mathew Lehman has resigned from the company’s board of directors and from his position as president and chief executive officer. Lehman took the job in September 2015.
Prior to joining M Pharmaceutical, Lehman was the chief executive officer of Prima Biomed Ltd. , where he was involved in obtaining Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations for the company’s lead product. From 2005 to 2010, he was the chief operating officer of SPRI Clinical Trials in Kyiv, Ukraine, and before that, SPRI Clinical Trials director of operations in the U.S.
M Pharmaceutical focuses on obesity and diabetes. It has acquired the rights to a family of technologies that include the eMosquito, for “automatic and autonomous monitoring of blood glucose by diabetics,” and TriMeo Weight Loss Capsules, which are drug-free, individually controllable expandable products that result in gastric volume reduction, and Trimtec Gastric Stimulation System, a minimally invasive surgical implant for weight loss.
On Dec. 15, 2015, the company announced that Martin Mintchev, board member and chief scientific officer, was stepping down effective immediately.
In November, the company indicated it had a letter of intent to acquire reformulated orlistat from CheLatexx, LLC, called C-103. As a result, “a significant reorganization of its priorities to concentrate on the development of oral products for obesity treatment and weight loss. The management of M Pharma and CheLatexx, LLC are currently reviewing the proposed acquisition structure for tax efficiency.”
However, today’s release indicated that the previously announced letter of intent had been allowed to lapse.
That deal was announced on Nov. 20, 2015. The terms of the acquisition of C-103 involves an upfront cash payment, 10 million common shares of M Pharmaceutical stock, and a low single-digit royalty on net sales.
“The acquisition of C-103 from CheLatexx, LLC is an exciting addition to the M Pharmaceutical pipeline,” Lehman said in a statement at the time. “This product fits into our mission of developing innovative technologies for obesity with fewer side effects than currently available products.”
CheLatexx’s product is a reformulated version of orlistat, which is marketed in prescription strength by Roche Laboratories, Inc., as Xenical 120mg capsules. It is also marketed as an over-the-counter product by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare as alli 60mg capsules.
The company notes that orlistat sales have declined recently due to “uncomfortable and well-publicized side effects of the product.” CheLatexx’s reformulation is an attempt to decrease those side effects.
Not a lot is known about CheLatexx. It is a private company headquartered in Fort Thomas, Ky.
There are no indications why the deal fell through.