Kitov Announces Name Change to Purple Biotech Ltd.
Purple Biotech Ltd. (NASDAQ/TASE: KTOV) has announced a corporate name change from Kitov Pharma Ltd., effective December 22, 2020. This change reflects the company’s focus on developing first-in-class oncology therapies for cancer treatment. CEO Isaac Israel highlighted significant 2020 milestones, including the initiation of clinical studies for NT219, and plans for CM24. The company successfully raised over $60 million to support its strategic goals. Additionally, Purple Biotech will relocate its headquarters near the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel.
- Successful completion of over $60 million in financing in 2020.
- Initiation of Phase 1/2 clinical studies for NT219 and upcoming studies for CM24.
- Relocation to a biotech hub, which may enhance collaboration and growth opportunities.
- None.
New Name Reflects Company’s Evolution to Advancing First-in-Class Oncology Therapies
TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Purple Biotech Ltd. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ/TASE: KTOV), a clinical-stage company advancing first-in-class therapies to overcome tumor immune evasion and drug resistance, today announced that it has changed its corporate name from Kitov Pharma Ltd. to Purple Biotech Ltd. The name change will be effective for trading purposes on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) and the NASDAQ Capital Market (NASDAQ) as of market open on December 22, 2020. At that time, the Company’s ordinary shares and American Depositary Shares (ADSs) will begin to trade under the new ticker symbol, “PPBT,” on the TASE and NASDAQ, respectively. The Company’s ordinary shares will continue to trade on the TASE and its ADSs will continue to trade on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “KTOV” through market close on December 21, 2020. The Company’s ADSs were assigned a new CUSIP number (74638P109), effective on December 22, 2020, as described above.
“Over the past few years, our business has evolved significantly towards an exciting new vision and our new name, Purple Biotech, completes the transformation to our focus on advancing first-in-class oncology therapies,” said Isaac Israel, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.
“2020 has been a year of substantial achievements for our company. We recently initiated Phase 1/2 clinical studies for NT219 and expect to begin our Phase 1/2 studies for CM24 shortly. We also successfully completed over
The Company will also be relocating its corporate headquarters shortly to the Science Park near the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, a key regional biotech hub.
No action is required by shareholders and holders of ADSs in connection with the corporate name change. The number of outstanding ordinary shares and ADSs are not affected by the name change. In connection with the name change, the Company expects to make additional ordinary course filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Purple Biotech
Purple Biotech Ltd. (f/k/a Kitov Pharma Ltd.) (the “Company”; NASDAQ/TASE: KTOV) is a clinical-stage company focusing on advancing first-in-class therapies to overcome tumor immune evasion and drug resistance, to create successful long-lasting treatments for people with cancer. The Company’s oncology pipeline includes NT219 and CM24. NT219 is a small molecule targeting the novel cancer drug resistance pathways IRS1/2 and STAT3. The Company is currently advancing NT219 as a monotherapy treatment of advanced solid tumors and in combination with cetuximab for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck cancer (SCCHN) in a phase 1/2 study. CM24 is a monoclonal antibody blocking CEACAM1, a novel immune checkpoint that supports tumor immune evasion and survival through multiple pathways. The Company plans to advance CM24 as a combination therapy with anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors in selected cancer indications in a phase 1 study followed by a phase 2 for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. The Company has entered into a clinical collaboration agreement, as amended, with Bristol Myers Squibb for the planned phase 1/2 clinical trials to evaluate the combination of CM24 with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo®) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and in combination with nivolumab in addition to nab-paclitaxel (ABRAXANE®) in patients with pancreatic cancer. The Company is also the owner of Consensi®, a fixed-dose combination of celecoxib and amlodipine besylate, for the simultaneous treatment of osteoarthritis pain and hypertension that was approved by the FDA for marketing in the U.S. Consensi® is being sold in the U.S. by Burke Therapeutics, the marketing partner of the Company’s U.S. distributor, Coeptis Pharmaceuticals. The Company has also partnered to commercialize Consensi in China and South Korea. The Company is relocating its corporate headquarters imminently to Rehovot, Israel. For more information, please visit http://www.kitovpharma.com.
Forward-Looking Statements and Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements in this press release that are forward-looking and not statements of historical fact are forward looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that are not statements of historical fact, and may be identified by words such as “believe”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “may”, “should”, “could”, “might”, “seek”, “target”, “will”, “project”, “forecast”, “continue” or “anticipate” or their negatives or variations of these words or other comparable words or by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical matters. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements reflect our current views, expectations, beliefs or intentions with respect to future events, and are subject to a number of assumptions, involve known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond our control, as well as uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be significantly different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, among others, risks relating to: the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; product development for NT219 and CM24; the process by which early stage therapeutic candidates such as NT219 and CM24 could potentially lead to an approved drug product is long and subject to highly significant risks, particularly with respect to a joint development collaboration; the fact that drug development and commercialization involves a lengthy and expensive process with uncertain outcomes; our ability to successfully develop and commercialize our pharmaceutical products; the expense, length, progress and results of any clinical trials; the impact of any changes in regulation and legislation that could affect the pharmaceutical industry; the difficulty in receiving the regulatory approvals necessary in order to commercialize our products; the difficulty of predicting actions of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other applicable regulator of pharmaceutical products; the regulatory environment and changes in the health policies and regimes in the countries in which we operate; the uncertainty surrounding the actual market reception to our pharmaceutical products once cleared for marketing in a particular market; the introduction of competing products; patents obtained by competitors; dependence on the effectiveness of our patents and other protections for innovative products; our ability to obtain, maintain and defend issued patents; the commencement of any patent interference or infringement action against our patents, and our ability to prevail, obtain a favorable decision or recover damages in any such action; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions, and other factors that are discussed in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019 and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including our cautionary discussion of risks and uncertainties under “Risk Factors” in our Registration Statements and Annual Reports. These are factors that we believe could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected results. Other factors besides those we have listed could also adversely affect us. Any forward-looking statement in this press release speaks only as of the date which it is made. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement or other information contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. You are advised, however, to consult any additional disclosures we make in our reports to the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website, http://www.sec.gov.
Company Contact:
Gil Efron
Deputy CEO & Chief Financial Officer
IR@kitovpharma.com +972-3-933-3121 ext. #105
Investor Relations Contact:
Chuck Padala
chuck@lifesciadvisors.com
+1 646-627-8390
FAQ
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