Message #20 From:
NewsBot Date: October 24, 2006 09:19:00 AM
XKEM News Xechem Announces Results of Annual Stockholder's Meeting
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Xechem International, Inc. (OTC BB: XKEM) announced today the
results of its Annual Stockholder Meeting, held earlier today at the
company's offices in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Proxies representing a
majority of the shares voted at the Annual Meeting were cast in favor of
management and its policies and actions since the previous annual
meeting, including the resolutions brought before the shareholders for a
vote.
Xechem’s Chairman and CEO, Dr. Ramesh Pandey,
updated shareholders on developments at the company, with emphasis on
the strides made by its subsidiary, Xechem Pharmaceuticals Nigeria,
Ltd., in commercializing NICOSAN™, its Natural
Herbal Drug for the prophylactic management of Sickle Cell Disease
(SCD). Included in Dr. Pandey’s presentation
were slides showing the progress made in the construction of the new
state-of-the-art commercial scale production facility which will adhere
to the cGMP standards at its premises in Abuja, Nigeria, presently
slated for completion by mid to late 2007. Dr. Pandey also recounted for
those in attendance the extraordinary transformation that has occurred
since 2002, when Xechem was developing the drug with borrowed equipment
in temporary lab space. Now, he said, Xechem has built a modern, cGLP
standard pilot facility from the ground up that rivals any in Nigeria
and is currently producing and selling limited quantities of the drug at
the highest standards. According to Dr. Pandey, “When
you consider how far we have come with the limited resources available
to us, including receiving approval from Nigerian drug regulators in
July of this year and our success in bringing the drug to market, I am
very pleased with what we have accomplished in a relatively short period
of time. To be sure, much work still lies ahead, but I am optimistic
that our progress will continue to accelerate and I look forward to
delivering rewards to our shareholders.”
At the meeting, the current slate of directors, Dr. Pandey of Highland
Park, New Jersey, Mr. Stephen Burg, of Fairfield, California and Dr.
Adesoji Adelaja of Okemos, Michigan, were all re-elected by wide margins
to the board of the company. Other resolutions passed by shareholders
included the ratification of the company’s
selection of Moore Stephens P.C. as its auditors, the adoption of a
Stock Option Award Plan authorizing the grant of options to purchase 150
million shares of the company’s common stock,
and an approval to an amendment to the company’s
certificate of incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares
of common stock from 1,950,000,000 to 5,000,000,000.
Board Takes Action to Voluntarily Limit Company’s
Ability to Issue Shares Without Further Shareholder Action
Despite the approval by shareholders to increase the company’s
authorized share capital, Xechem’s board of
directors held a special meeting immediately following the conclusion of
the Annual Meeting and passed a resolution restricting the ability of
the company to issue more than 3.5 billion total shares without a
further vote of the shareholders. According to Xechem's Chairman and
CEO, Dr. Ramesh C. Pandey, “The resolution
increasing the company’s authorized share
capital was never a reflection of any present intention by the Company
to issue shares in the amount of the proposed increase, but rather was
designed to give the company maximum flexibility to respond to
ever-changing events and opportunities, and to provide a hedge against
unforeseen and unanticipated circumstances. However, after listening to
the concerns of our shareholders, the Board was persuaded to voluntarily
limit the ability of the company to issue more than 3.5 billion shares
without further authority from the shareholders. I believe that the Board’s
action in limiting the issuance of shares will allay shareholder
concerns while still providing the company ample flexibility to respond
to future circumstances.”
About Xechem
Xechem International is a development stage biopharmaceutical company
working on Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), antimalarials, antiviral
(including AIDS), anticancer, antifungal and antibacterial products from
natural sources, including microbial and marine organisms. Its primary
focus is on the development of phyto-pharmaceuticals (Natural Herbal
Drugs) and other proprietary technologies, including those used in the
treatment of orphan diseases. Xechem’s
mission is to bring relief to the millions of people who suffer from
these diseases. Its recent focus and resources have been directed
primarily toward the development and launch of NICOSAN™
(named HEMOXIN™ in the US and Europe) for the
prophylactic management of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). With the recent
Nigerian regulatory approval of NICOSAN™,
Xechem is now scaling-up the commercialization of the drug in Nigeria
and making preparations for the pursuit of US FDA and European
regulatory approval. In addition to NICOSAN™,
Xechem is also working on another sickle cell compound, 5-HMF, which it
has licensed from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended, and
section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
which are intended to be covered by safe harbors created hereby.Such
forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties.