Boston Therapeutics, Inc.
(OTCQB: BTHE)
Chairman and CEO David Platt
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INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS:
WSA: Good day from Wall Street. This is Juan Costello, Senior Analyst at the Wall Street Analyzer. Joining us today is Dr. David Platt, the CEO and Chairman of Boston Therapeutics. The company trades on the OTCQB, ticker symbol BTHE. Thanks for joining us today, Dr. Platt.
Dr. David Platt: Thank you for having me.
WSA: Great, anytime. Now, starting off, please give us a history and overview of the company for some of our listeners that didn’t catch our interview last year.
Dr. David Platt: The company is doing research and a clinical trial on a new drug called BTI-320 which block the enzyme in the intestine that digest sugar. And when you take it before a meal, you block the amount of glucose or sugar that goes into the blood. It’s a non-systemic approach to treatment of high blood sugar. And the company finalized the phase 1 and phase 2, and now we’re going with Joslin, the Diabetes Center in Boston to 360 patients, a clinical trial on A1c which is the amount of hemoglobin associated with glucose on the hemoglobin, on the red blood cells. And then once we showed that it’s significantly reduced, it would be another drug, another additional drug to fight Type II diabetic for high blood sugar.
WSA: Great. And yeah, can you talk about the recent FDA acceptance of the IND for BTI-320.
Dr. David Platt: That’s the pivotal trial that we’re going to do for detecting the reduction of A1c in Type II diabetics. It’s 360 patients, as I said, in multiple sites and that trial will take probably a year-and-a-half with recruitment and summarize the submission.
WSA: And can you update us there on some of your other milestone that you’ve accomplished since our last interview which was around October of last year, some of your other studies there.
Dr. David Platt: Yes, we finalized the phase 2 this year. We announced the data, we published the data in a peer review journal. And then, we started [the] selling of food supplements out of the drug program, research program. We have a food supplement which is the reduced version and food supplement version of the drug for babies, it’s called SugarDown, and we signed it with two partners, one in the Far East in Hong Kong, the company name is Advance Pharmaceutical.
They are marketing their food supplement there under Sugar Balance brand. And in the US we have a marketing partner named Benchworks that started selling the product. Actually, the company started having revenue from the food supplement which is a form of chewable tablet to reduce blood sugar before a meal or after meal blood sugar. You chew it before a meal and we’re supposed to have less sugar in the blood after meal.
WSA: Good. And so, what are some of the other key trends that you’re seeing right now in the sector and how are you positioning the company to capitalize?
Dr. David Platt: The company is a drug technology company, and we’re developing the drug. We don’t invest any money in marketing that’s done outside the company so we will get the royalties and revenue but we have no investment in marketing or sales. It’s just done by our partner. And the business model which we’re developing the drug and eventually when we have data, and do a deal we will find a large pharma to work with them to get it into the market as a drug for non-systemic approach for diabetes or treatment of diabetes Type II.
WSA: Certainly. What are some of the factors that you feel makes BTHE unique from some of the other players in the sector?
Dr. David Platt: The main factor is we are the only company right now who is developing a non-systemic drug for the intestine to block the enzyme that digests sugar. All the other companies that is in the space of diabetes, they’re all working on what you call systemic approach which any mechanism that influences insulin in the liver, or kidney, or pancreas. And because of that, we’re in a unique position from that management of blood sugar.
The second issue which is very important is the toxicity profile. To date, our toxicity test in animal and human showed no adverse effect whatsoever and they’re in all patients. And it’s very important when you develop a drug and know that new approach on any drug that shows very low level of toxicity which would be in compliance, the future compliance of our patients.
WSA: Great. And perhaps you can walk as through your background and experience, Dr. Platt, and talk a little bit about the management team there.
Dr. David Platt: Yes my expertise is in–as an individual is in the area of carbohydrates, composite carbohydrate chemistry. So, the company is basically specialized and my team are specialized in developing these type of technologies around the chemistry and the drug. And the BTI-320 is–it’s a carbohydrate drug or the chemistry, the type of chemistry is a carbohydrate chemistry which acts in this case as an inhibitor for the enzyme to digest sugar.
WSA: Great. And so what are the key goals and milestones are you and the team hoping to accomplish over the course of the next six to 12 months?
Dr. David Platt: To complete the clinical trial. So, as fast as we can recruit patients, the trial will be finalized. Also we need to get the Ipoxyn, our second technology into clinical trial and we are now in the clinical stage of that technology.
WSA: And do you think that investors and the financial community completely appreciate and understand your company’s story, and if not what do you wish investors better understood about you guys?
Dr. David Platt: I think the investors in the investment community, they’re not–they don’t appreciate what we’re doing, and that requires some education. We’re a new company and we need to educate them which we will do. Also, the approach of a non-systemic approach of diabetes, it’s not something that it’s a mainstream. Most of the drugs or all the drugs that are developed in the space are systemic and influences a fair insulin level and glucose level in the blood. It will take time in the results to get advertised, and published, and peer reviewed.
And we have now a medical advisory board, very prominent people in the field. Our Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board, his name is Larry Ellingson. He was the Former Chairman the American Diabetes Association and was with the company Eli Lilly for 30 years and the Program Manager for their diabetes program.
Our Medical Board Manager is a physician named Ming, Dr. Ming who was also in Eli Lilly for 30 years. So it takes time in the investment community and peer review or peers to understand the value of this type of approach for glucose, or sugar management, or blood glucose management. And then, as we progress and our clinical trial result will be available, it will get the attention, I believe of the investment community.
WSA: Certainly. And once again, joining us today is Dr. David Platt, CEO and Chairman for Boston Therapeutics which trades on the bulletin board ticker symbol BTHE, trading at 28 cents a share, market cap north of ten million. And before we conclude here to recap some of your key points, why do you believe investors should consider the company as a good investment opportunity today?
Dr. David Platt: In my opinion, we have one of the most exciting development in blood glucose or sugar management for 100 million individuals in the US alone, I’m not talking about the rest of the world. We’re talking about blood glucose management, we’re talking about non-systemic and nontoxic medication. It doesn’t affect any biological system. It will allow and help patients manage the blood sugar much better with no toxicity. And if they take other drugs in conjunction with other drugs, it really will help, I mean, reducing the amount or get an overall better management of blood sugar.
So the non-systemic approach is an overlooked area in diabetes research, and I believe that we have – we’ll have a great contribution for the management of blood glucose for the people who need it the most.
WSA: Well, we certainly look forward to continue and track the company’s growth and report on your upcoming progress. And we’d like to thank you for taking the time to join us today, Dr. Platt, and update our investor audience on Boston Therapeutics. It’s always good to have you on.
Dr. David Platt: Thank you for having me. Thank you.
