Lion plans $5M investment in Tampa, will focus on cancer research
By Margie Manning
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Aug 11, 2014

A Los Angeles biotech firm has big plans for its Tampa lab facilities.

Lion Biotechnologies Inc., which has leased lab space at USF Research Park, estimates it will incur more than $5 million of expense during the next two years in connection with the construction, furbishment and operation of the Tampa research facility, according to the company's quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. While the company had previously disclosed terms of the lease, it had not spelled out the total investment.

The company is spending about $500,000 on the buildout of the 5,200-square-foot facility at 3802 Spectrum Blvd., and also plans to buy laboratory equipment and supplies, the filing said. Lion expects to the lab to ready for use by the end of October.

Lion (OTCBB: LBIO) earlier said it would hire up to 10 employees at the Tampa location. Their focus will be on developing novel cancer immunotherapies based on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, or TILs, which it describes as a kind of anti-tumor T-cell naturally present in a patient's tumor.

Lion, which began its current business in 2011, has yet to generate any revenue – a situation that is not uncommon for a startup biotechnology firm. The company raised $23.3 million in a private placement in November, and says it has enough money in hand to fund planned operations for the next year, but will need to raise additional funds in the future to complete development plans.

Lion has signed an agreement with Moffitt Cancer Center, giving Lion an exclusive worldwide license to Moffitt's rights in and to two patent-pending technologies related to ways to use TILs for cell therapy. Lion also has entered into a clinical trial grant agreement with Moffitt to expand an ongoing Phase 1 study of TILs combined with ipilimumab in patients with metastatic melanoma. Under the agreement, Lion will give Moffitt funding to enroll an additional 10 qualified patients into the clinical trial, bringing the total number of subjects to 20, a statement said.

Margie Manning is Quality and Content Editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal. She also covers banking, finance and professional services.