Precision Therapeutics finalizes Helomics buy, completes pivot to personalized medicine

Precision Therapeutics (NSDQ:AIPT) said yesterday it inked a definitive merger agreement with Helomics, completing the company’s plan to pivot towards artificial-intelligence powered personalized medicine.

Minneapolis-based Precision Therapeutics inked a deal to acquire the remaining 75% equity stake in Helomics in April, after having purchased preferred stock in the company convertible into a 20% stake in January and converting a previous $500,000 loan with Helomics into a 5% equity stake in March.

Pittsburgh, Penn.-based Helomics developed and maintains the D-Chip database which contains de-identified data from clinical tests of tumor responses to drugs and uses artificial intelligence powered bioinformatics to generate insights from the data, Precision Therapeutics said.

The acquisition will provide Precision Therapeutics full access to Helomics artificial intelligence, precision diagnostic and integrated CRO capabilities to improve patient care. The company added that it hopes the addition will make it more competitive in the precision oncology department, and will drive revenue generation for the current year.

“Completing this definitive merger agreement represents a milestone in our strategy to cement our leadership position in the precision oncology market. Upon completion of the merger, we will have complete ownership of Helomics’ one of a kind tumor database, which has been developed over 15 years of clinical testing and contains drug response profiles of over 149,000 patient cancer tumors, and its D-CHIP bioinformatics engine that provides actionable insights into this data. There is significant demand from pharma companies for rich molecular data as it has the potential to revolutionize the effectiveness of clinical trials and drug development, and we believe that Helomics has a truly unique and best-in-class offering, combining artificial intelligence with personalized oncology. Our focus now will be on monetizing this offering to drive revenue generation to Precision Therapeutics in 2018 and beyond,” Precision Therapeutics CEO Dr. Carl Schwartz said in a press release.

Through the deal, all outstanding shares of Helomic’s stock not already held by Precision will be converted into the right to receive a proportionate share of 7.5 million shares of newly issued Precision stock, in addition to 1.1 million Precision shares already issued for its 20% ownership.

The merger includes a condition of at least 75% of Helomic’s $7.6 million in outstanding promissory notes being exchanged for additional Precision shares at $1 per share, the company said.

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