Generex maps plan for immunotherapy spinoff, reverse stock split

Claiming a multimillion-dollar appraisal for one of its immunotherapeutic drugs, Generex ($GNBT) is laying plans to spin off Antigen Express into an independent, publicly-traded company. The biotech--with an OTC stock trading at 22 cents this morning--has simultaneously announced its first-string executive lineup, with interim CEO Mark Fletcher staying at the helm.

"The transformation of Antigen Express into a separate, publicly traded entity is the centerpiece of the Generex strategic development plan," Fletcher said in a statement. "For too long, Antigen Express and its promising immunotherapeutic vaccine technologies have been overshadowed by the Generex buccal drug delivery platform technologies. We believe this spin-out will help to unlock the true value of this dynamic company for our stockholders as it creates a pure play in immunotherapeutic vaccines for which we have already received an appraisal of over $300 million for the current status of our development program for breast cancer treatment alone. It will also allow Generex to benefit from its controlling interest in a publicly traded Antigen Express while allowing the Company to focus on maximizing the vast opportunities for its buccal drug delivery platform as well as creating a vertically integrated company for diabetes care through the Global Medical Direct acquisition."

One of Fletcher's priorities is getting the company, which was dropped from Nasdaq last fall, back on a national exchange. Fletcher plans to ask shareholders at an upcoming annual meeting to approve a reverse stock split that would be designed to accomplish that task.

Almost a year ago Generex sued TheStreet and its biotech writer Adam Feuerstein for $250 million, claiming that it was damaged by his reports that the company was "using science and the quest to develop an alternative insulin delivery method not to actually help diabetics but as a ruse to perpetuate a 15 year-long stock promotion scheme."

- here's the Generex release