Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Pro-Pharmaceuticals secures $1.8M, names new CEO

By Marc Songini

Cash-strapped Pro-Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Newton, has just closed an initial $1.8 million tranche out of a total $6 million private funding transaction to get its lead drug candidate Davanat past the necessary federal regulatory hurdles. The company also announced that former president and board of directors member Theodore Zucconi was named CEO and president.

Pro-Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB: PRWP) announced the tranche had been closed on February 12. The company executed the transaction by issuing and selling a mix of different stocks and warrants for a gross purchase price of $1.8 million. Similarly, before next August 11, the company plans to raise another $4.2 million. 

Pro-Pharmaceuticals will use some of the cash to finance the completion of its submission of a New Drug Application for its lead drug, Davanat, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It will use some of the other remaining monies for “general corporate purposes.”

The company also named Zucconi president and CEO, replacing David Platt, who was made CEO and chief technology officer of Medi-Pharmaceuticals Inc., a company partially owned by Pro-Pharmaceuticals. In December, Pro-Pharmaceuticals announced it had let go its president at the time, Zucconi, and chief scientist Anatole Klyosov to save cash. Both have been rehired.

Pro-Pharmaceuticals is a clinical and development stage pharmaceutical firm that discovers and develops carbohydrate-based compounds for the treatment of cancer, liver, microbial, and inflammatory diseases.