What is ImQuest, and How is Statera Biopharma using it to Develop New Immune Therapies for Cancer, Infectious Disease and Autoimmune Disorders?

Previously Published to Benzinga: The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

Statera Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: STAB) — the company formerly known as Cytocom (NASDAQ: CBLI) — recently uplisted to the Nasdaq in lieu of earlier acquisitions involving Cleveland BioLabs and ImQuest Life Sciences, Inc. Last week, the company provided an update on its integration of ImQuest and its plans going forward. 

According to Statera, preclinical testing is underway in the screening of second-generation immune therapies using the ImQuest platform for the rapid and accurate assessment of various diseases and how the overall makeup and composition of these diseases interact. The company will look more closely at the intricacies of the immune compounds, including toll-like receptors (TLR4, TLR5, TLR7 and TLR9) that can lead to an unfavorable prognosis. 

What does this mean for the future of health and wellness?

Statera is currently developing therapies designed to directly interact with antigen-specific killer T-cells and antibodies, which will then activate essential immune defenses.

A leading biopharmaceutical company creating next-generation immune therapies for the medical industry, the company is poised on discovering immune restoration and homeostasis that would lead to a healthier, disease-free way of life for those otherwise immunocompromised. 

Focused on bringing total immune health to those suffering from infectious, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, blood disorders and even cancer, the platform allows physicians to a deep dive into how pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variables select cells and molecules in receptor binding, as well as the potency of specific therapies on each given scenario. 

By understanding how the body reacts to various treatments and immunotherapies, the platform allows specialists to discover critical factors within the human body that are either preventing or accelerating the healing process. Using a methodical property analysis, it then targets those elements and enhances the level of therapeutic benefit that they provide.

ImQuest strengthens and expands Statera’s drug development program with new assets and service offerings. In doing so, ImQuest BioSciences, the drug development arm of ImQuest Life Sciences, will now be integrated into Statera’s existing drug development operations, which will offer a straightforward evaluation of all vaccines, biologics and pharmaceuticals in preclinical development. 

Although ImQuest BioSciences is a contract research organization (CRO) that now operates as a separate, wholly-owned, revenue-generating subsidiary of Statera, the company hopes that it will be able to harness its power and fully advance its mission of developing new immune therapies that targeting cancers, infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders. 

So, what happens to investments in CBLI?

Since trading under the new ticker, STAB, Statera Biopharma provided an update on the mechanics of the ImQuest Life Sciences acquisition and the stock conversion process, whereas the company issued a Series A-2 preferred stock to the former stockholders of ImQuest Life Sciences. 

In a recent press statement by Statera BioPharma, the merger between the formerly private Cytocom Inc. and Cleveland BioLabs, afforded the holders of these Series A-2 preferred shares an entitlement valued at approximately $12 million. The value of these shares in Statera is based on the volume-weighted-average trading price of such shares following the closing of a 30-day merger period with Cleveland BioLabs, starting September 7, 2021. 

According to the company, “Statera set aside a certain number of the total shares issuable in the Cytocom-Cleveland BioLabs merger to ensure that the former ImQuest Life Sciences stockholders would receive the $12 million in Statera shares to which they are entitled.”

Once the 30-trading-day period following the merger passes on September 7, the Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company will start to distribute new Statera shares, informing existing Cytocom stockholders of the name and ticker changes, as well as the 4-to-1 exchange where stockholders will now own 1 share of Statera for every 4 shares of Cytocom. In addition, the new total ownership of shares will be disclosed to each of its shareholders at this time. 

The press release continues, “The final conversion ratio for old Cytocom stockholders will be known only after the former ImQuest stockholders receive their shares following the expiration of the 30-trading-day period following the merger on September 7, 2021. Continental will send old Cytocom stockholders an updated statement after September 7, 2021, with the final number of shares owned in Statera.”

For more on Statera Biopharma, its treatments and therapies, visit www.staterabiopharma.com. To learn more about Statera’s recent name change, check out “Statera Biopharma: The Ticker Formerly Known as CBLI.”

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.