Overview
(May 9, 2025, Wilmington, Delaware and Houston, Texas) - Steptoe obtained a significant victory before the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on behalf of our client, Shannon Ralston and her subsidiaries, S.hield Cap1tal Funding LLC and Immunocell Therapeutics, Inc., which successfully purchased the assets of Kiromic BioPharma, Inc. in an expedited sale before the Bankruptcy Court.
Kiromic is an early-stage oncological biotherapeutics company seeking to develop and manufacture novel technologies for identifying and treating solid tumors. By 2025, Kiromic had three product candidates in development, and one of these candidates is currently in the midst of its first clinical trial. Kiromic's first patient has already achieved an impressive 15-month progression-free survival, a significant metric in oncology treatment, given that patients with the types of advanced metastatic cancer that Kiromic's therapy is intended to treat typically have a significantly shorter survival rate (approximately 4-5 months). Ms. Ralston, through her wholly-owned subsidiary, was Kiromic's sole secured creditor and Kiromic's single largest equity holder.
Negotiations regarding further funding between Kiromic and Ms. Ralston stalled in March 2025, which culminated in Steptoe filing an action in Delaware Chancery Court seeking the appointment of a receiver. However, on March 21, 2025, Kiromic filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, ceasing all operations and seeking to liquidate the company.
To save Kiromic's pending clinical trial and to ensure access to Kiromic's novel life-extending therapy to additional cancer patients, Ms. Ralston made an offer to purchase substantially all of the assets of Kiromic. After significant negotiations, done on a compressed timeline, the US Bankruptcy Court approved the sale on April 14, 2025.
This transaction will allow Immunocell Therapeutics, Inc., to continue the efforts to treat cancer and continue the research into cutting-edge oncology therapies.
Ms. Ralston is the President and CEO of Angel Staffing, Inc., a company she founded in 2002 that is composed of a team of 40 corporate staff and 5,000 field employees all working in the healthcare field mostly in private, state and federal inpatient healthcare facilities in and around the southern Texas and other US states. Ms. Ralston is also a Registered Nurse specializing in oncological treatment and care and is passionate about finding novel cancer therapies.
Steptoe's team was led by Jeff Reisner and included Kerri Lyman, Sabina Jacobs Margot, and Siobhan Smith. Thomas Francella of Raines Feldman Littrell LLP served as Delaware counsel.
About Steptoe
In more than 110 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
