Empower Clinics Inc. (CSE:EPW, OTCQB:EPWCF) said it has entered into a letter of intent (LOI) with Dr Bharat Mocherla, a Nuclear Medicine Specialist in Las Vegas, Nevada, with over 15 years of experience in the medical and clinical trials field, to create an operate a Dallas-based Site Management Organization (SMO) with plans to evolve into a Contract Research Organization (CRO).
Empower said the proposed SMO is expected to work with industry, patients, community doctors and researchers in North America and globally to provide clinical trial management services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries.
The partnership expects to identify new cities to operate additional SMOs in 2023, with the goal of developing a diversified CRO, Empower said.
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Empower CEO Steven McAuley said this was a transformational partnership for the company.
“Our diagnostics laboratory in Dallas serves as the perfect hub to launch US SMO services with the guidance of Dr Mocherla,” he said.
“From there we can continue to launch additional SMO sites throughout US and Canada by leveraging Empower's network of health professionals and our unique access to capital markets as a public company."
Dr Mocherla added: "This partnership is a dedicated research center working with community doctors and researchers around the globe to provide advanced diagnostic tests and effective treatments for debilitating diseases.”
“With my partnership with Empower, we can now add Dallas to our site list and work with the local medical community with the primary goal to provide exclusive high-profile studies to the global research community,” he continued.
Transaction details
Empower said, per the LOI, the company and Dr Mocherla intend to form a new joint venture entity which will be owned 51% by Empower and 49% by Dr Mocherla or an affiliate.
Empower and Dr Mocherla intend to provide US$200,000 in seed capital for the joint venture.
The Definitive Agreement is expected to include a right of first refusal providing Empower first right to purchase Las Vegas Medical Research, controlled by Dr Mocherla, and providing Dr Mocherla first right to purchase the Empower interest.
In connection with the transactions, Empower intends to issue 2 million common shares in the capital of Empower to Dr Mocherla.
At such time the joint venture achieves US$5 million in revenue and subject to Empower’s stock option plan and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange, Empower intends to grant 750,000 incentive stock options to Dr Mocherla with a five-year term.
Empower Clinics is an integrated healthcare company with multi-disciplinary clinics, an at-home medical testing device company, and state-of-the-art medical diagnostics laboratories.
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