Provectus Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (OTCQB:PVCT) said this week that its board of directors voted unanimously to terminate CEO and chief operating officer Peter Culpepper, after an internal investigation revealed that Culpepper violated the company’s expense account reimbursement policy.
The Knoxville, Tenn.-based company said it has established a search committee and is actively seeking a new CEO. In the meantime, Provectus president Timothy Scott will serve as interim CEO.
Scott has been with Provectus since 2002. He previously worked on the executive team of Photogen, serving as the company’s chief operating officer, director and interim CEO.
Provectus is investigating a number of therapies for skin cancer, liver cancer and breast cancer. PV-10, the company’s investigational oncology drug, is an ablative immunotherapy that is being studied as a treatment for solid tumor cancers. The company has finished a phase II trial evaluating PV-10 in patients with metastatic melanoma.
Provectus has also received orphan drug designation from the FDA for melanoma and hepatocellular carcinoma therapies.
The company is running clinical trials for PH-10, a topical drug, as treatment for psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, including a phase II trial of PH-10 as a topical therapy for the 2 conditions.
In August, the company raised $6 million in a public offering of 240,000 shares of Series B convertible preferred stock and warrants to purchase 24,000,000 shares of common stock at $25.00 apiece. The warrants had an exercise price of ¢0.27 per share and will expire on August 30, 2021.
