A Closer Look At TapImmune Inc (OTCMKTS:TPIV)

TapImmune Inc (OTCMKTS:TPIV) is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of innovative peptide and gene-based immunotherapeutics and vaccines for the treatment of breast and ovarian cancer & metastatic disease, has issued a shareholder update regarding significant recent financial, clinical and regulatory milestones achieved, as well as an outlook on its future.A number of the Company’s investors exercised a total of 12 million warrants, resulting in a $6 million cash infusion. TPIV also recently raised an additional $3 million financing through a private equity placement conducted by Katalyst Securities and West Park Capital. Simultaneous to these transactions, certain of the Company’s outstanding warrants were restructured, leading to the elimination of $29 million of derivative liability. These two actions have bolstered TPIV's balance sheet.It should be noted that there are several significant holders of TapImmune’s stock which should be mentioned. The most significant is value-based investor Kenneth B. Dart, through Eastern Capital Limited, is the Company’s largest shareholder, owning 20,000,000 shares. He appears to be in this for the long term. He hasn’t sold a share. From his offices in the Cayman Islands, Mr. Dart manages more than a $5 billion fortune, including about $700 million in at least 10 biotech companies, including TapImmune.Other people, through various entities, have been granted stock and/or warrants and have either sold or exercised the warrants and then sold the stock, For example, Rich Abbe, a co-founder, principal and managing partner at Iroquois Capital Management holds 3.2 million shares after selling 1.75 million through Iroquois and various Abbe Trusts. Kimberly Page, through American Capital Management, holds 1.5 million shares after selling 750,000 and Empery Asset Management, a registered investment adviser out of New York run by Ryan Lane and Martin Hoe has 750,000 shares left after selling 8.5 million. Finally, Shaye Hirsch, the founder and general partner of Brio Capital, through Brio Capital Master Fund, doesn’t own any shares any longer but sold 10,000,000.The $9 million cash influx, combined with the elimination of the derivative liability creates a balance sheet that is enabling it to apply for a listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market. It also provides available cash to execute on the 4 Phase 2 trials of the Company’s lead clinical candidate TPIV 200, which is used for the treatment of triple-negative breast and ovarian cancer. After traditional treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation, patients have a high risk of cancer of cancer recurrence. TPIV 200 stimulates the immune system to recognize and combat cancer cells and targets metastatic disease, which represents the greatest danger to a patient’s health. It attempts to stimulate T-cells to identify and focus on certain targets (antigens) on tumor cells in patients. This will also provide funding for the continued advancement of its second cancer vaccine candidate, TPIV 110, which slated to enter a Phase 2 trial in early 2017.TapImmune has also bolstered its executive management team with the appointments of Dr. John Bonfiglio as President and Chief Operating Officer and Michael J. Loiacono as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, and Corporate Secretary. Both previously served as consultants to TapImmune. Dr. Bonfiglio is an experienced biotech CEO who has led publicly traded companies through effective fund raising, successful clinical trials, and an uplisting to a major national stock exchange, similar to what TapImmune is attempting. Mr. Loiacono previously served as a publicly company CFO in charge of overall corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and treasury.Overall, TapImmune has the best in class T-cell vaccines for breast and ovarian cancer. Through these recent financial transactions, the Company is now able to fund the completion of Phase II clinical trials where successful results should provide significant increases in its price. At a current market valuation of a little less than $50 million, in one of the most exciting sectors, we would expect that this stock could trade significantly higher. Matter of fact, it would not surprise us to see TPIV eventually acquired by a big pharma player. We will be updating our subscribers as soon as we know more. For the latest updates on TPIV, sign up below!Disclosure: We have no position in TPIV and have not been compensated for this article.