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I'm aware of the history of GaM given that I have held since before the start of the phase 1, Tyke. I used Google Gemini and asked questions about GaM's potential. The answers seem reasonable to me. The point is that the phase 1 wasn't purely about Glioblastoma - it was a safety study in a very sick population that should clear the way for a phase 2 in any cancer. The asset has been de-risked and clearly it's worth more than IBAIs market cap. They have clearly been talking to pharma - hence the Vivan announcement. We have no idea who else maybe in discussions. More news flow is highly likely. Biotech development lifecycles are not for the faint hearted - as long term holders can testify to, no news.flow with a gradual, inevitable share price decline, followed by significant activity as trial results are anticipated.

Is GaM a dead cert? I have no idea - but IMHO it's probably mis-priced at today's market cap. Just my opinion - not advice. DYOR, as they say :-)

Cut and paste didn't quite work but hopefully the general message that the true value would be as a combination therapy that protects existing high value oncology drugs from the patent cliff came across. The Vivian testing would give an early indication and it's possible big pharma would be forced to license due to competitive risk. This means the timeline for a deal could be much sooner than a phase 2 completion.

GaM: The Patent Defense Asset for Immuno-Oncology

The Asset: Gallium Maltolate (GaM) is a unique, orally available small molecule that disrupts the core metabolism of cancer cells by acting as an "Iron Mimetic." Cancer cells are addicted to iron; GaM tricks them into absorbing the drug, leading to cell death.

The De-Risking: This drug is highly de-risked: it has established Phase 1 safety and tolerability in 120 patients (Titan Pharma and IBAI ) and, crucially, has shown strong evidence that it crosses the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB)—a major pharmaceutical challenge. It already boasts early promising Overall Survival (OS) signal in the notoriously difficult GBM brain cancer.

The Financial Magnitude: GaM's primary value is in Combination Therapy. Blockbuster drugs like Merck's Keytruda ($29.5 B in 2024 sales, expiring 2028) and BMS's Opdivo (over $9 B in sales) face massive revenue losses to generics.

The Competition & Urgency: Big Pharma must acquire combination therapies like GaM now to create a New 20-Year Combination Patent (e.g., Keytruda + GaM). A competitor (BMS, AstraZeneca) demonstrating synergy first would be catastrophic for Merck. This competitive threat forces a pre-Phase 2 licensing deal with a likely $30 million−$75 million upfront cash payment.

GaM: The Patent Defense Asset for Immuno-Oncology

The Asset: Gallium Maltolate (GaM) is a unique, orally available small molecule that disrupts the core metabolism of cancer cells by acting as an "Iron Mimetic." Cancer cells are addicted to iron; GaM tricks them into absorbing the drug, leading to cell death.

The De-Risking: This drug is highly de-risked: it has established Phase 1 safety and tolerability in 120 patients and, crucially, has shown strong evidence that it crosses the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB)—a major pharmaceutical challenge. It already boasts a promising Overall Survival (OS) signal in the notoriously difficult GBM brain cancer.

The Financial Magnitude: GaM's primary value is in Combination Therapy. Blockbuster drugs like Merck's Keytruda ($29.5 B in 2024 sales, expiring 2028) and BMS's Opdivo (over $9 B in sales) face massive revenue losses to generics.

The Competition & Urgency: Big Pharma must acquire combination therapies like GaM now to create a New 20-Year Combination Patent (e.g., Keytruda + GaM). A competitor (BMS, AstraZeneca) demonstrating synergy first would be catastrophic for Merck. This competitive threat forces a pre-Phase 2 licensing deal with a $30 million−$75 million upfront cash payment—a mandatory event that will send the stock price soaring.

GaM: The Patent Defense Asset for Immuno-Oncology

The Asset: Gallium Maltolate (GaM) is a unique, orally available small molecule that disrupts the core metabolism of cancer cells by acting as an "Iron Mimetic." Cancer cells are addicted to iron; GaM tricks them into absorbing the drug, leading to cell death.

The De-Risking: This drug is highly de-risked: it has establ

It will take time. As the realization gradually sinks in that this drug is safe and has a unique mechanism of action, it will garner attention from more strategic investors (including pharma). As we know,.this doesn't happen on a Friday afternoon. There will be a gradual tick up over coming weeks as the asset value sinks in.

The Power of "First-in-Class"

In the context of a "patent cliff" defense, a First-in-Class (FIC) asset like GaM (the first oral iron-targeting therapeutic for solid tumors) is invaluable.

The Big Pharma suitor would not just be acquiring a GBM treatment; they would be acquiring a platform technology that solves a major problem (patent expiry) across multiple cancer franchises, all based on a highly validated scientific principle. This leverage allows IBAI to demand a much higher upfront payment (the cash you are waiting for) and a higher royalty percentage than a drug with a less unique mechanism.

The collaboration testing platform looks very interesting. They can characterize a tumour and produce tailored drug treatment in days. I assume this means that GaM can be tested rapidly against know tumour tissue they have presumably sampled. So, we may not have to wait for results. Glioblastoma is a small (but potentially valuable) market. The cancers mentioned in the PR are much bigger. Combination therapy (GaM plus existing) might also prove invaluable in protecting a blockbuster drug with impending patent expiry.. That protection has an immediate effect on big pharma's bottom line - something they would buy for loose change at the current market cap.

They can't fund a phase 2. The reality is it would cost $7-10m minimum But, they can put together a great data package that makes it worth licensing. This is what they are doing with the announced partnership.

This adds huge credibility to the program. Now they have a proven safe dose, they can go after other more common cancers. The fact that there are no.side.effects.from the drug is a.massive advantage. It's really hard to see how IB won't get mopped up by big pharma..

Good clinical data release will undoubtedly help sentiment but rockets might be reserved for a licensing/partnership deal. It's been a long 4 years but we are getting there..We have missed SNO (where they presented interim data) for 2025 - they would have announced were they were presenting by now. It's likely to be 2026 conferences - but that gives them more time to add to the data package - analysis of tissue samples would be an added bonus - as will any responder group characterization.

....and a novelechanism.of action that is different from other Chemo drugs. A recommended phase 2 dose with low/no toxicity has also been established. This all increases the asset value. It will get picked up by a bigger pharma looking to build it's pipeline out, I suspect.

Any licensing deal for the asset would probably result in IBAI (and TB) giving up all rights in return for milestone and royalty payments. In these sorts of deals, the licensee controls everything, including future trials.

The asset has orphan designation, fast track

Yes I saw that - they only reached 26.. But, it's a trial in a population that, sadly, has months to live. They probably screened many more patients but selection criteria, rapid decline etc make recruitment in late stage cancers trials very problematic. I would take.great encouragement from Dr. Connelly's recent statement that results have been "encouraging' and warrant a phase 2. If this is born out by the clinical data, GaM is significantly de-risked and I assume would now be more appealing to a larger pharma.

I see the status of the trial has changed... They must be getting nearer to announcing something. It's cancer conference season... I wonder if they are going to get something out at a big event in the US.

Thanks for the link. My reading is that it looks like they might have come across this software while looking at how to analyse the effect of GaM on tissue - either during the phase 1, or more likely in the pre-clinical work on animals. I really hope they get somewhere with GaM in pre-clinical studies for common cancers.

Https://www.medimagemetric.com/

You often get a "headline" type release that presents the initial data analysis and then subsequent announcements at later time points as more data is processed and interpreted. My guess is they will publish once they have processed the 6 month (minimum) survival stats and then possibly periodic updates on the progress of patients still taking GaM. Obviously, average survival rates will get better the longer the drug is available. As time passes, they will likely try to identify "responders" (who have done well on the therapy). If there is some common characteristic or marker they can identify, it would be used to shape the recruitment of future trials and potentially demonstrate higher efficacy in the subpopulation.

The early phase 1 results were published in 2023, see https://academic.oup.com/neuro-oncology/article/25/Supplement_5/v89/7405564

I was interested to know if the journal that published the article was of high quality, as this is very important in scientific (and commercial) terms, so I asked AI.. This is what it said..

Neuro-Oncology has a high Impact Factor (IF), which is a common metric used to gauge a journal's importance in a scientific field. The Impact Factor has consistently risen over the years, placing it among the top journals in both the "Clinical Neurology" and "Oncology" categories. For example, recent reports show an IF of over 15.9, which ranks it 4th out of 212 Clinical Neurology titles and 16th out of 241 Oncology titles.

It consistently outperforms its direct peers in the neuro-oncology subspecialty.

I hope for the same when the full trial results are published, although it's anyone's guess as to when that may be.

Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZYy02X7zJY minute 40

I am pretty sure IB, in a previous RNS, has stated that they will own the data from the Ph1 trial. The cljnical trial record has MCW as sponsor but https://www.mcw.edu/newsroom/news-articles/innovative-therapy-that-tricks-and-destroys-cancer-cells-advances-to-clinical-trial states that "The trial is being sponsored by Imaging Biometrics with supporting grants from the Musella Brain Tumor Foundation and the MCW Cancer Center. Based in Elm Grove, WI, Imaging Biometrics is a wholly owned subsidiary of IQ-AI Ltd."

They should finish collecting the survival data in the fall. It's not a large study, so I hope for publication this year.

Larry Bernstein filed most of the patents relating to GaM. If you watch the original phase 1 youtube video that is mentioned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS_XkT3Yr6k

His patents are listed here. https://patents.google.com/?inventor=Lawrence+Richard+Bernstein

Some of the older ones are due to expire.

IB's new patent would, presumably, need to be specific to the dosing and treatment of Glioblastoma patients. The strongest patents are the ones that protect "composition of matter" - the checmical formula itself. That particular patent expires in 2026. I imagine that IB or MCW must have involved the patent holder in discussions about the trial.