Message from Renovaro Bioscience, Inc.’s CEO, The Hon. Mark Dybul,
MD
Renovaro Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq: RENB)
Dear Shareholders,
Happy New Year.
I write to update you on our key developments towards precision
medicine for healthy longevity - starting with cancer - powered by
mutually reinforcing AI and biotechnology platforms for early
diagnosis, better-targeted treatments, and drug discovery towards
our vision of a world with effective cancer treatments free from
toxic chemotherapy.
As we move from an exciting 2023, highlighted by:
- Signing a definitive agreement to
combine with the European-based, cutting-edge AI
company GEDi Cube; - GEDi Cube signed a partnership with
NVIDIA to expand its multi-omic capabilities to multi-modal and has
progressed toward commercialization of liquid biopsy test kits in
2024;- Consistently achieving in pre-clinical studies what Dr.
Anahid Jewett, an oncological immunology scientist at UCLA,
recently named among the top 3% of researchers in the world by
Stanford University, calls “The holy grail of cancer
research.”
2024 is off to a promising start:
- The Company filed its definitive
proxy statement for its shareholder meeting scheduled for January
25, 2024, in order to vote on matters related to the combination
with GEDi Cube.
GEDi Cube has Promising AI advancements toward
commercialization in 2024
In addition, since the last CEO letter, we have been advised by
GEDi Cube that its team has substantially accelerated its
multi-omic health technology while aggressively pursuing key
partnerships to contribute to the commercialization of potential
products and lay a solid foundation for a client base for rapid
uptake when products become available.
In that regard, GEDi Cube became a formal
Inception Partner of NVIDIA. This partnership gives GEDi access to
their resources for infrastructure and scaling, and specific advice
and guidance from their Inception Team to progress towards moving
from a multi-omic to a multi-modal approach by incorporating
imaging technology.
GEDi Cube also informed us that it aims to
utilize its proprietary AI platform in the development of
commercial products to support clinical, research, and
pharmaceutical organizations that are trying to improve patient
care through precision diagnosis, prediction of success of therapy,
new drug discovery, treatment protocols, or clinical trials.
Specifically, GEDi Cube specializes in developing products and
services aimed at (i) early cancer characterization, (ii)
personalized treatment selection, (iii) prediction and tracking
response to therapies, (iv) recurrence detection and efficacy
monitoring, and (v) ultimately, drug discovery.
GEDI Cube has progressed its efforts with a
three-phase workflow for its AI platform for biomarker
discovery.
- Phase I of the workflow behind GEDi Cube’s AI platform
primarily centers on the pivotal process of biomarker discovery.
This intricate procedure unfolds through the application of data
mining algorithms and statistical methodologies integrated into the
AI platform. The paramount objective of Phase I is to reduce the
plethora of genomic features displaying variations across samples,
which is accomplished by systematically eliminating extraneous or
inconsequential features while preserving those features that
exhibit the greatest potential for accurately detecting
cancer.
- Phase II of the workflow builds upon the foundation of selected
biomarkers by focusing on understanding the dynamic interplay among
these chosen biomarkers, culminating in the creation of composite
panels. The goal of Phase II is to pinpoint biomarker combinations
that not only demonstrate robustness in detecting cancer but also
maintain their efficacy across diverse contexts. GEDi Cube believes
that its AI algorithms are adept at uncovering multiple
combinations across a spectrum of panels, which is supported by
GEDi Cube’s AI-guided panel mining, a proprietary combinatorial
optimization technique used by GEDi Cube’s AI technology. This
approach, coupled with the capacity to explore numerous panels,
significantly enhances the likelihood of discovering panels that
align with specific metric criteria, such as sensitivity,
specificity, precision, and recall, and allows for tailoring
criteria to align with the client’s unique needs, such as the
number of biomarkers included per panel or the inclusion of
biomarkers associated with the expression of specific genes. The
performance of the top-tier panels is further fine-tuned through
the application of machine learning models. Subsequently, the
efficacy of these biomarker panels in detecting cancer is validated
through independent data sets.
- Phase III of the workflow involves GEDi Cube’s collaboration
with its clinical partners to validate the performance of the
biomarker panels. Through this collaboration, GEDi Cube is able to
confirm the utility and accuracy of its biomarker panels in
real-world clinical contexts.
While we await your decision on the business combination, the
GEDi Cube and Renovaro Biosciences teams have been actively
planning for a potential multiplier effect through the combined
companies. We have jointly engaged to design clinical studies that
will collect blood and biopsy samples from leading cancer centers
in the USA and Holland to help accelerate the potential
commercialization of AI-powered products.
Advancing a Cancer Vaccine Toward Studies in
Humans
Renovaro Biosciences has expanded the pre-clinical validation of
the effectiveness of the cancer vaccine RENB-DC11. Dr. Jewett
dubbed the results “the holy grail of cancer
research” based on the highly reproducible results
obtained in 4 experiments of pancreatic cancer in humanized mice
conducted by UCLA, including:
- Rapid and significant tumor
regression: an 80-90% decrease in tumor size;- Effective tumor
infiltration: significant infiltration of the tumor sack by
effector immune cells, indicating ongoing killing of cancer cells;-
Immune Cell activation predicted by the anticipated mechanism of
action: significant increases in the blood of effector immune cells
and key markers of cancer-killing immune activation, and;-
Aggressive cancer progression inhibition: no metastases.
Recently, a leading contract research organization conducted an
additional animal study that was designed to examine the effects of
RENB-DC11 in a more advanced stage of pancreatic cancer. In the
treated group, there were no metastases, and there was a
significant reduction in tumor size – down to an undetectable
level. Compared with previous studies, half the dose and a
non-matched pancreas tumor line lysate, rather than matching it to
the specific cancer tissue biopsy, were used.
In addition, Dr. Jewett conducted a preliminary study in liver
cancer with promising results, showing a reduction in cancer
progression, including metastases, and apparently improved survival
in mice treated with the vaccine compared to the untreated group of
animals.
While both studies are small and will be repeated, the results
are encouraging and consistent with the strong response observed in
all previous studies.
In addition, we have made substantial progress toward
manufacturing clinical-grade material under Good Manufacturing
Processes (GMP), enabling both safety and toxicity studies required
for the filing of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to
initiate clinical trials.
Finally, we have finalized the design of the clinical protocol
and have identified the principal investigator from the Department
of Oncology at UCLA to conduct the first-in-human studies, which is
projected to be at the end of 2024. Because our Senior Vice
President for Clinical Operations has 32 years of experience at
Pfizer, including creating and leading teams that managed human
trials of cancer cell and gene therapies, we will retain complete
control of the study with sub-contractors who have already been
identified rather than outsourcing to a Clinical Research
Organization. This should help ensure the combined Phase 1 and 2
trial’s quality and speed and reduce the estimated cost by 50%.
Link to the deep-dive slide deck on the cancer platform:
https://renovarobio.com/events-and-presentations/default.aspx
Structured for Success
The structure envisioned for the combined Company, and as
outlined in the Proxy, is a Topco, for which I would serve as CEO,
and two subsidiaries – Renovaro Bioscience and GEDi Cube, with the
intention to change the name to Renovaro AI or another appropriate
name. This approach is intended to allow each subsidiary to advance
its cutting-edge technologies without introducing cultural and
management challenges inherent in business combinations. However,
as indicated, we have already begun planning for a multiplier
effect at the intersection of the health tech and biotech
platforms. This could lead to potentially numerous “AI clones” and
new therapies that could create the foundation for evergreen
business opportunities.
We firmly believe the winning combination of cutting-edge Health
Tech and Biotech offers an opportunity for an end-to-end approach
to cancer – from early diagnosis and detection of recurrence to
prediction of treatment effectiveness to the discovery of new
therapies while advancing our existing therapeutic vaccine towards
our vision for living a long, healthy life free from toxic
chemotherapy.
Thank you for your support and for investing in the Company. As
we turn the page to a new year, we look forward to the opportunity
to combine with GEDi Cube’s team of experts and award-winning
AI.
Let’s help define the future of medicine – together.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of
historical fact, included in this communication that address
activities, events, or developments that Renovaro or GEDi Cube
expects, believes, or anticipates will or may occur in the future
are forward-looking statements. Words such as “estimate,”
“project,” “predict,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,”
“potential,” “create,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “plan,”
“will,” “guidance,” “look,” “goal,” “future,” “build,” “focus,”
“continue,” “strive,” “allow” or the negative of such terms or
other variations thereof and words and terms of similar substance
used in connection with any discussion of future plans, actions, or
events identify forward-looking statements. However, the absence of
these words does not mean that the statements are not
forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include but are
not limited to, statements regarding the proposed Transaction, the
expected closing of the proposed Transaction and the timing
thereof, and as adjusted descriptions of the post-transaction
company and its operations, strategies and plans, integration, debt
levels and leverage ratio, capital expenditures, cash flows and
anticipated uses thereof, synergies, opportunities, and anticipated
future performance. Information adjusted for the proposed
Transaction should not be considered a forecast of future results.
There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements included in this communication. These include the risk
that cost savings, synergies and growth from the proposed
Transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize
than expected; the possibility that shareholders of Renovaro may
not approve the issuance of new shares of Renovaro common stock in
the proposed Transaction; the risk that a condition to closing of
the proposed Transaction may not be satisfied, that either party
may terminate the Transaction Agreement or that the closing of the
proposed Transaction might be delayed or not occur at all;
potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee
relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or
completion of the proposed Transaction; the occurrence of any other
event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the
termination of the stock purchase agreement relating to the
proposed Transaction; the risk that changes in Renovaro’s capital
structure and governance could have adverse effects on the market
value of its securities and its ability to access the capital
markets; the ability of Renovaro to retain its Nasdaq listing; the
ability of GEDi Cube to retain customers and retain and hire key
personnel and maintain relationships with their suppliers and
customers and on GEDi Cube’s operating results and business
generally; the risk the proposed Transaction could distract
management from ongoing business operations or cause Renovaro
and/or GEDi Cube to incur substantial costs; the risk that GEDi
Cube may be unable to reduce expenses; the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic, any related economic downturn; the risk of changes in
regulations effecting the healthcare industry; and other important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected. All such factors are difficult to predict and are
beyond Renovaro’s or GEDi Cube’s control, including those detailed
in Renovaro’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K that are available on
Renovaro’s website at www.renovarobio.com and on the website of the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) at www.sec.gov. All
forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that Renovaro
and GEDi Cube believe to be reasonable but that may not prove to be
accurate. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date
on which such statement is made, and neither Renovaro nor GEDi Cube
undertakes any obligation to correct or update any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.
No Offer or Solicitation
This report is not intended to and shall not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell
or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a
solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale
of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation
or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification
under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of
securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting
the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended.
Important Additional Information
Regarding the Merger Will Be Filed with the SEC and Where to Find
It
In connection with the proposed Transaction,
Renovaro has filed relevant materials with the SEC, including a
proxy statement (the “proxy statement”). Promptly after filing the
Proxy Statement with the SEC, Renovaro mailed the Proxy Statement
and a proxy card to each Renovaro stockholder entitled to vote at
the Special Meeting. This communication is not a substitute for the
Proxy Statement or for any other document that Renovaro may file
with the SEC or send to Renovaro’s stockholders in connection with
the proposed Transaction. INVESTORS AND
SECURITYHOLDERS OF RENOVARO ARE URGED TO CAREFULLY AND THOROUGHLY
READ THE PROXY STATEMENT, AS MAY BE AMENDED OR SUPPLEMENTED FROM
TIME TO TIME, AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED BY RENOVARO WITH
THE SEC BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT
RENOVARO, GEDI CUBE AND THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION, THE RISKS RELATED
THERETO AND RELATED MATTERS.
The Proxy Statement was mailed on or about
January 4, 2024, to Renovaro’s stockholders of record as of the
close of business on December 29, 2023. Investors and security
holders are able to obtain free copies of the Proxy Statement and
other documents filed by Renovaro with the SEC at www.sec.gov.
Copies of documents filed with the SEC by Renovaro, including the
proxy statement are available free of charge from Renovaro’s
website at www.renovarobio.com under the “Financials” tab.
Participants in the
Solicitation
Renovaro and its directors and executive
officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of
proxies from the stockholders of Renovaro in connection with the
proposed Transaction. Information about Renovaro’s directors and
executive officers is set forth in Renovaro’s annual report on Form
10-K/A filed with the SEC on October 30, 2023, and the Proxy
Statement. Other information regarding the interests of such
individuals, as well as information regarding other persons who may
be deemed participants in the proposed Transaction, is set forth in
the proxy statement and other relevant materials to be filed with
the SEC. Stockholders of Renovaro, potential investors, and other
readers should read the Proxy Statement carefully when it becomes
available before making any voting or investment decisions.
ABOUT THE COMPANYRenovaro has
developed advanced cell, gene, and immunotherapy platforms designed
to renew the body’s natural tumor-fighting capabilities against
cancer and infectious diseases. For more information on Renovaro,
go to their website at www.renovarobio.com.
Contact: ir@renovarobio.com
Source: Renovaro Biosciences Inc.
Renovaro (TG:2Q5)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jan 2025 to Feb 2025
Renovaro (TG:2Q5)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Feb 2025