BioTime

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/876343/0001140361170…

BioTime BTX

This company has been touted by Mauldin Economics for a while now.

It is mostly using stem cells for regenerative medicine and is involved in anti-aging. They tend to play anti-aging down as there is a lot of quackery in the area.

Their numbers are strange because they spun off two companies. Asterias Biotherpeutics: AST

From Google Finance.

https://www.google.com/finance?cid=180198432800418

Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company. The Company is engaged in developing and commercializing therapies in the fields of cell therapy and regenerative medicine. The Company has over two technology platforms. The first is an immunotherapy platform to teach cancer patients’ immune systems to attack their tumors. The second is pluripotent stem cell platform. Pluripotent cells are a type of stem cell capable of becoming all of the cell types in the human body. From its immunotherapy platform, the Company is developing over two programs. AST-VAC1 (telomerase loaded, autologous dendritic cells), which allows patient’s own cells to recognize and fight cancer cells in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Together with Cancer Research United Kingdom (CRUK), it is developing AST-VAC2 (telomerase loaded, -allogeneic dendritic cells), -derived from pluripotent stem cells. From its pluripotent stem cell platform, it is developing AST-OPC1, oligodendrocyte progenitor cells.

and they spun off OnoCyte Corporation OCX

From Google Finance

https://www.google.com/finance?cid=226789413543229

<OncoCyte Corporation is a development-stage biotechnology company focused in the field of regenerative medicine. The Company is developing molecular cancer diagnostics utilizing a discovery platform that focuses on identifying genetic markers expressed in various types of cancer. It operates through the research and development of diagnostic tests for the detection of cancer segment. Its initial focus will be confirmatory diagnostics, utilizing liquid biopsy technology, for use in conjunction with imaging to confirm initial diagnoses within certain oncology indications. In addition, it will be developing screening diagnostics as replacements for screening imaging procedures. For some indications, it will also be pursuing the probability of recurrence of a specific cancer through the development of prognostics or companion diagnostics that help a physician determine which therapy is the optimal treatment for the patient. It offers diagnostic tests for lung, breast and bladder cancer.

In addition BioTime is developing therapies in three core areas: Aesthetics, Ophthalmology, and Delivery.

They are showing a profit with a P/E of 10 or so. However, this is GAAP and is due to the spin off of Asterias and OnoCyte. Looking at the income statement the income is all grants.

CIRM grant income is 38%
NIH grant income is nothing this year, but up to 12 percent in years past.
IIA( formerly OCSA grant income (Cell Cure, Isreal) 24 percent
Subscriptions, advertising and other(various customers) 3 percent

Revenues, not including Asterias or OnoCyte (they own a little less than 50 percent) are about 5 million in 2016 and that is down from 7 million in 2015, but that is the spin off of the two companies showing that reduction.

This company is risky and worse, not easy to evaluate due to the spin offs. On the other hand the spin offs obfuscate (Thank you George Bush) the value of the company, if there is any, and make it possible that it is miss priced.

Cheers
Qazulight (No position, but I am tempted to take a small nibble.)

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