Cel-Sci secures funds to go "the whole way" in $50m battle with inVentiv
The funds have been made available by Lake Whillans – a company which provides financing for parties involved in litigation - to cover costs in Cel-Sci's dispute with inVentiv, which is scheduled to go to court this month.
Cel-Sci began proceedings against inVentiv in October 2013 after dismissing the US contract research organisation (CRO) and accusing it of failing to enrol patients in a Phase III trial of the investigational immunotherapy Multikine (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection).
Cel-Sci is seeking $50m from inVentiv.
The argument was originally due to go to trial in May.
However inVentiv rejected the claims and, according to a document filed with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in April, has accused Cel-Sci of breach of contract and defamation. The CRO is seeking more than $20m in damages
The hearing has been tentatively rescheduled for October 27.
The funds secured from Lake Whillans are important for several reasons according to CEL-SCI CEO Geert Kersten.
“First, it allows us to focus all of our financial resources on our Phase III cancer immunotherapy drug Multikine” Kersten said.
“Second, we believe that the financing confirms that CEL-SCI has a strong case, and third, it makes clear to anyone involved in the arbitration that CEL-SCI has the funds to finish the arbitration and go the whole way, if needed.”
inVentiv did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.
Trial recruitment
Cel-Sci hired Icon subsidiary Aptiv Solutions and Ergomed to continue the Multikine trial and enrolment has improved. In January, the firm announced that there had been an eight fold increase in recruitment compared with 2013.
The firm had enrolled 570 patients in the trial by the end of September.
