Drug developer PharmStar Pharmaceuticals (PINK:PHAR), which has been working to bring to market a liquid aspirin, has lost its top executive.
The Rocky Mount company disclosed that President and CEO Howard Phykitt has resigned. In a letter dated Aug. 22, Phykitt said his resignation was effective immediately. Phykitt is giving back his 405 million shares in the company and in exchange, PharmStar’s board of directors has unanimously agreed to release intellectual property rights, patents and trademarks for the soluble aspirin back to Phykitt.
The letter offered no other details about the company or Phykitt’s plans.
PharmStar had developed a liquid derivative of aspirin that the company planned to commercialize under the name Aquaprin. Aquaprin was to be sold in foil packets carrying the Aquaprin crystals, which are intended to be dissolved in water.
PharmStar had claimed the liquid formulation enabled aspirin to be absorbed into the bloodstream up to 10 times faster than other over-the-counter pain relievers and with little stomach irritation. Aquaprin did not need additional Food and Drug Administration approval because it is considered an “effervescent aspirin” that falls under existing rules for OTC analgesics.
PharmStar has largely stayed under the radar. The company does not trade on any major exchange, lacking the financial track record to meet listing requirements. Last year, Phykitt issued an update to PharmStar shareholders saying that the company was still working on securing financing for production of Aquaprin. But in a June 2012 statement, he said that PharmStar has had to reduce operations until full financing is achieved. At that time, Phykitt said that he and other PharmStar employees were not taking any salary from the company.
Phykitt did not say how much money PharmStar needed to start Aquaprin production, though at that time he said PharmStar was in talks with three funding groups for full funding of Aquaprin production.
