Spherix Announces Results of Annual Shareholders Meeting
19 Noviembre 2009 - 12:26PM
PR Newswire (US)
BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Spherix
Incorporated (NASDAQ:SPEX), an innovator in biotechnology for
diabetes therapy, and a provider of technical and regulatory
consulting services to food, supplement, biotechnology and
pharmaceutical companies, today announced the results of Tuesday's
Annual Meeting of Shareholders. At the meeting, shareholders of
Spherix Incorporated (NASDAQ:SPEX) elected the following members to
the Board of Directors: -- Douglas T. Brown, Senior VP and Manager
of Corporate Banking Government Contracting, PNC Bank -- Claire L.
Kruger, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer,
Spherix -- Gilbert V. Levin, Ph.D., Chairman Emeritus and Founder,
Spherix -- Robert A. Lodder, Jr., President, Spherix; and
Professor, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky -- Aris
Melissaratos, Senior Advisor to the President of Johns Hopkins
University -- Thomas B. Peter, former Vice President,
GlaxoSmithKline -- Robert J. Vander Zanden, Ph.D., former Vice
President, R&D, Kraft Foods International In addition, Grant
Thornton LLP was ratified as the Company's independent accountants
for the year 2009, and the shareholders authorized the Board of
Directors to determine when and if to effect the reverse stock
split of the common stock, within a range of 1:5 to 1:20, at any
time within eighteen (18) months of this meeting. At the meeting,
Dr. Vander Zanden, Chairman of the Board, stated, "The success of
Spherix over the past two years has been the result of hard work,
and great collaboration, by both the Board and the Corporate
Officers. We still have a long way to go, but the team is taking
the proper course necessary to successfully commercialize
D-tagatose. We believe we are on the right path and we're working
diligently to get there." Dr. Kruger, CEO, added, "I am proud to
report that Spherix has reached a number of key milestones, each of
which we hope will increase the potential for the Company to
realize its goal of commercializing D-tagatose as a novel treatment
option for patients with Type 2 diabetes." Dr. Lodder, President,
elaborated on the results of the compound's recent interim
analysis, "Results of the blinded interim data analysis of the
Phase 3 trial demonstrate a significant reduction in variability of
HbA1c levels, the primary endpoint of the trial, increasing the
statistical power to observe a significant result. The observed
data to-date indicate that the change in variability of HbA1c from
baseline is favorable, and that the current sample size gives the
study sufficient power to achieve the statistical significance for
protocol defined differences between control and D-tagatose in
HbA1c when the study reaches the planned number of patients
completing treatment. "The analysis noted that the results of the
secondary variables, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, and body mass index
(BMI), are very striking and are in agreement with that of the
HbA1c results. These results demonstrate a significant decrease in
the mean BMI at all time points evaluated compared to baseline. A
consistent decrease of BMI and serum triglycerides was observed at
each visit, with the difference in triglycerides becoming
significant by the last two patient visits. A statistically
significant reduction in HDL and LDL was also seen compared to
baseline." Dr. Kruger concluded the Company's formal remarks by
saying, "Turning now to our ongoing and developing
commercialization strategy, there is no point in doing clinical
trials unless the company plans to market the drug as a result. The
Company needed to raise $6.3 million in new capital on Monday to
remain on track to commercialize its drug, D-tagatose, and at the
end of the day, the shareholders owned shares in a company with a
better chance of success. In addition, our Spherix Consulting
subsidiary, which may be overshadowed at times by the exciting
events and news that comes out of the Biospherics subsidiary,
continues to grow and generate a critical revenue stream for the
company." At a Board of Directors meeting later the same day, the
following slate of Corporate Officers was elected: -- Robert Vander
Zanden, Chairman of the Board -- Claire Kruger, Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Operating Officer -- Robert Lodder, President --
Robert Clayton, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer -- Katherine
Brailer, Corporate Secretary and Director of Administrative
Services About Spherix Spherix Incorporated was launched in 1967 as
a scientific research company, under the name Biospherics Research.
The company now leverages its scientific and technical expertise
and experience through its two subsidiaries-Biospherics
Incorporated and Spherix Consulting, Inc. Biospherics is currently
running a Phase 3 clinical trial to study the use of Naturlose as a
treatment for Type 2 diabetes. Its Spherix Consulting subsidiary
provides scientific and strategic support for suppliers,
manufacturers, distributors and retailers of conventional foods,
biotechnology-derived foods, medical foods, infant formulas, food
ingredients, dietary supplements, food contact substances,
pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer products, and industrial
chemicals and pesticides. For more information, please visit
http://www.spherix.com/. Forward-Looking Statements This release
contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to
provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Investors are cautioned that such statements in this release,
including statements relating to planned clinical study design,
regulatory and business strategies, plans and objectives of
management and growth opportunities for existing or proposed
products, constitute forward-looking statements which involve risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking
statements. The risks and uncertainties include, without
limitation, risks that product candidates may fail in the clinic or
may not be successfully marketed or manufactured, we may lack
financial resources to complete development of Naturlose, the FDA
may interpret the results of studies differently than us, competing
products may be more successful, demand for new pharmaceutical
products may decrease, the biopharmaceutical industry may
experience negative market trends, our continuing efforts to
develop Naturlose may be unsuccessful, our common stock could be
delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market, and other risks and
challenges detailed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, including our current report on Form 8-K filed
on October 10, 2007. Readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on any forward-looking statements which speak only as of
the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly
release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking
statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances that
occur after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence
of unanticipated events. DATASOURCE: Spherix Incorporated CONTACT:
Investor Relations of Spherix Incorporated, +1-301-897-2564, Web
Site: http://www.spherix.com/
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