Long Island cancer drug biotech firm filed for $10.7M offering on Nasdaq

Lixte Biotechnology Holdings Inc., a Long Island developer of drugs that could hold promise in the treatment of sarcomas, lung and brain cancer, has filed a $10.7 million stock offering and applied for a listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. 

The East Setauket company, whose stock is currently traded over the counter, was founded by its president and chief executive, Dr. John Kovach, in August 2005.

The company plans a one-for-six reverse stock split as part of the offering and to retain its over-the-counter ticker, "LIXT," when it moves to the Nasdaq. The company's stock gained 2 cents, or 1.7%, to close Tuesday at $1.20.  . 

The funding will be used to advance clinical trials of its drug candidates, expand Lixte's patent portfolio and for other purposes, according to the filing.

"The pre-clinical studies have been very promising," Kovach said. The stock offering is designed to fund clinical trials to further evaluate the drugs.

Kovach said that pre-clinical studies suggest that LB-100, Lixte's lead drug candidate, could increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy, x-ray therapy and immunotherapy in treating a variety of cancers.

Los Angeles-based Westpark Capital Inc. is underwriting the offering.

Lixte currently is running a clinical trial at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute Hospital in Tampa, Florida, of  LB-100, on people with myelodysplastic syndrome, a group of cancers that cause bone marrow failure. 

In  a separate study, the National Cancer Institute is testing LB-100 in a planned eight-patient study of the drug's ability to enter the brain and penetrate brain tumors, for which therapies are limited.

Kovach, former director of the Long Island Cancer Center — now known as the Stony Brook University Cancer Center — retired from his academic duties at Stony Brook to focus on Lixte.

The risk factors listed in Lixte's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission includes the difficulty the company would have in replacing Kovach, 83, who is being treated for prostate cancer.

"Kovach is experienced in the design and conduct of early clinical trials, having been the lead investigator of a National Cancer Institute Phase 1 clinical trial contract for 10 years at the Mayo Clinic," the filing said.

To this point, Lixte has been a development stage company and did not generate any revenue in 2018 or 2019.

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.