Dear Shareholders and Friends,
September is no doubt off to an exciting start—in part due to Hurricane Irma. Although many of our friends and family were not as fortunate and have suffered devastating losses due to the recent storm (and our thoughts and prayers are with them), I am relieved to announce that our corporate office, lab and clinic have not been affected by Hurricane Irma and remain fully operational.
All U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. facilities, including U.S. Stem Cell Clinic, reopened on Tuesday, September 12 with regular business hours.
As you know, U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. is an emerging enterprise in the regenerative medicine / cellular therapy industry. Since 1999, we believe that the Company has completed more clinical treatments (for both humans and animals) than any other regenerative company in the world. U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of cell-based therapies that prevent, treat or cure disease by repairing and replacing damaged or aged tissue, cells and organs and restoring their normal function. U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. is opening our own network of clinics AND has also partnered with other companies to build a national distribution network of affiliate clinics for stem cell therapies using the U.S. Stem Cell, Inc.-developed technologies—and one such group includes the American Stem Cell Centers of Excellence (“COE”) owned by General American Capital Partners.
American Stem Cell COE continued to expand in September with the addition of a new clinic in Dallas, TX. The Dallas Center of Excellence, located at 14330 Midway Rd., Suite 121, Dallas, TX, is modeled after the successful Miami center, which opened its doors in May 2017. Dallas COE offers a variety of therapies we believe will enhance the body’s natural healing mechanisms. The clinic is led by Dr. John R. Roland, MD, a certified Stem Cell and Functional Medicine practitioner. The new clinic is part of an aggressive plan to add an additional 10 stem cell treatment centers and clinics in the U.S.
The Dallas clinic opening comes in part thanks to the early adoption of patient rights by the State of Texas. HB810, which went into effect on September 1, 2017, allows for the use of stem cell treatments to patients with certain severe chronic diseases or terminal illnesses. This bill parallels “Right To Try” laws that have been approved in more than 30 states, including Texas. Bills like these allow patients on borrowed time, that are severely debilitated, or in extreme pain due to an ailment, the access to biological products, devices, or drugs that could preserve or better their current state. Such improvements would have otherwise been missed without the “right to try” due to the lengthy approval process from the Food and Drug Administration. The State of Texas has taken a stance for patients by stating that “the use of available investigational drugs, biological products, and devices is a decision that should be made by a patient with a severe chronic disease in consultation with the patient’s physician and is not a decision to be made by the government.” We stand with the State of Texas and plan to continue to help patients unlock their regenerative potential.
As we have been doing for years, U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. is in the business of helping other affiliate groups enter this exciting field by offering certified physician training (through U.S. Stem Cell Training), selling the required equipment and laboratory kits (through U.S. Stem Cell, Inc.), and treating patients in need (through U.S. Stem Cell Clinic and our network of strategic partners). Many often ask how U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. benefits from helping others enter the regenerative medicine market and the answer is simple: U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. generates revenue for every patient treated by any of the providers using our technologies—including all of our affiliate clinics that are either partially owned by U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. or we sell them equipment and products.. This helps us reach MANY more patients in need—and we believe U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. does well by doing good.
U.S. Stem Cell, Inc. also continued taking steps to clean up the balance sheet and lower the company’s debt. This week we submitted a Form 8-K to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reporting a debt restructuring agreement we entered into with Hunton & Williams LLP on August 31, 2017. This agreement is estimated to provide a debt relief of approximately $393,180. Hunton & Williams has been an extraordinary legal partner of the company and we are very grateful for their continued support. Negotiating the Hunton debt allows us to freeze the interest payments on two notes from 2009 and begin to work towards paying off this long-standing debt. A copy of the SEC Form 8-K filing is available here.
On a final note, we are aware (and it has dawned on many of you) that a select unscrupulous few persons continue to try to manipulate information regarding our company for, we believe, their own benefit. It is our contention that these online corrupts do not care about the state of our company or the health of our patients as long as they can quickly line their pockets through attempts to improperly influence and manipulate an otherwise orderly market. We contend that they defame and slander our company with, in our opinion, libelous untruths (behind the veil of their multiple aliases and fake online personas) and then try to benefit by buying and selling our stock during these fabricated periods of fear, uncertainty and lies. Management has determined that this ends now. In the past 10 days, we have engaged 3 law firms and 2 investigations companies and have already identified a handful of these truants. Our ambitious intent is to find them all, press charges, and prosecute to the FULLEST extent of the law in their own jurisdictions. While there are no guarantees of success, we believe this action is in the best interest of our shareholders, so we will proceed towards full enforcement of the law. We are in the business of helping patients and simultaneously building brand and shareholder value. We will not allow a handful of unethical, immoral, shameless, and corrupt few to access short-term gains at the expense of our shareholders and our patients in need. Once identified and prosecuted, we look forward to fully exposing them and letting you, FINRA, and any other appropriate regulatory entity know who they are as permitted by law.
Since 1999, we have been helping patients find regenerative medicine solutions to their chronic conditions. We will not stop now. For those affected by Irma or Harvey, our best wishes for recovery. Irma notwithstanding, we are thrilled to be on track, open for business and helping patients in need.
THANK YOU for your support.
Warmest regards,
Mike Tomas
President and CEO