Topic: How To Invest

Hi, Pat. What are your thoughts on ProMetic Life Sciences, their drug pipeline and the probability that PBI-4050 is approved and makes it to market? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

ProMetic Life Sciences, $2.48, symbol PLI on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 554.2 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; www.prometic.com), focuses on removing pathogens from blood and extracting harmful proteins from blood plasma. To this end, it recently opened a new plasma-purification facility in Laval, Quebec. The company also aims to develop its own plasma-derived treatments as a by-product of its filtering technology. Its leading candidate right now is PBI-4050, which is in clinical trials for patients with chronic kidney diseases, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (a disease in which tissue deep in the lungs becomes thick and stiff, or scarred, over time) and metabolic syndrome (a cluster of conditions including increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels that can result in type 2 diabetes). In 2014, ProMetic had revenue of $23.0 million, up 11.5% from $20.6 million in 2013. Cash flow was negative $24.7 million, or $0.05 a share, compared to negative $5.4 million, or $0.01 a share…