Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Reports Financial Results for Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2007
TUSTIN, Calif., Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, today announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2007 ended October 31, 2006. The company reported a consolidated net loss of $5,070,000, or $0.03 per basic and diluted share, compared to a consolidated net loss of $4,571,000 or $0.03 per basic and diluted share for the same prior year period. The increased net loss primarily reflects increased investments in research and development as the company advanced its clinical programs for bavituximab and Cotara®.
Total revenues for the current quarter increased to $684,000 compared to $556,000 for the comparable quarter last year and were primarily generated from services provided by Avid Bioservices, the company's wholly owned contract manufacturing subsidiary.
Total costs and expenses were $6,084,000 in the second quarter of 2007 versus $5,242,000 in the same quarter in the prior year. The increase in total expenses was primarily due to an increase in research and development expenses associated with the advancement of the company's clinical and preclinical product candidates.
Interest and other income increased $211,000 during the current quarter over the prior year quarter, primarily reflecting interest earned on the company's strengthened cash position. At October 31, 2006, the company had $23,394,000 in cash and cash equivalents compared to $17,182,000 at fiscal year end April 30, 2006.
"The second quarter of FY 2007 was marked by positive progress in all of our key clinical programs that should set the stage for continued progress during the remainder of the fiscal year," said Steven W. King, president and CEO of Peregrine. "During the last quarter, we received regulatory approvals to advance two clinical trials in India for Cotara in brain cancer and bavituximab in solid tumors to complement ongoing U.S. clinical trials for the two programs. We dosed our first patients in the bavituximab combination therapy cancer trial several weeks ago, and the Cotara brain cancer trial should commence in the near term. We expect that enrollment in these trials will proceed rapidly compared to the pace more typical of trials conducted in the U.S."
Mr. King continued, "In October we reported positive final data on safety and anti-viral activity from our Phase la study of bavituximab in HCV patients in an oral presentation at the prestigious American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) meeting in Boston, which drew a large audience of HCV opinion leaders and analysts and generated significant positive interest in our drug. We completed patient dosing in the bavituximab HCV Phase lb repeat dose study and ramped up our planning for the next round of HCV combination therapy studies, which we expect to initiate early in 2007."
Mr. King concluded, "Peregrine also made progress in its preclinical programs during this period, presenting encouraging preclinical data at scientific meetings on novel targets and approaches related to our anti-phospholipid platform, as well as receiving notification of the issuance of a broad patent covering vascular targeting agents in combination therapy regimens, potentially boosting our future intellectual property licensing efforts. During the quarter we also were very active in communicating with the investment community, including presentations at a number of investor conferences and one-on-one meetings with major institutional investors. We look forward to building on this momentum with what we expect to be an eventful and positive record of continued progress in the coming months from our five ongoing clinical trials."
Conference Call:
The company will host a conference call today, December 8, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. EST/ 8:00 a.m. PST to discuss its second quarter FY 2007 financial results.
To listen to a live broadcast of the call over the Internet or to review the archived call, please visit: www.peregrineinc.com. The webcast will be archived on Peregrine's website for approximately 30 days.
To listen to the call via telephone, please call the following number approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled time of the conference call: 1-800-860-2442. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through December 15, 2006 by calling (877) 344-7529, passcode 382933#.
About Peregrine Pharmaceuticals
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of innovative product candidates in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The company is pursuing five separate clinical trials in cancer and HCV infection in the U.S. and India with its lead product candidates bavituximab and Cotara®. Peregrine also has in-house manufacturing capabilities through its wholly owned subsidiary Avid Bioservices, Inc. (www.avidbio.com), which provides development and bio-manufacturing services for both Peregrine and outside customers. Additional information about Peregrine can be found at www.peregrineinc.com.
Safe Harbor Statement: Statements in this press release which are not purely historical, including statements regarding Peregrine Pharmaceuticals' intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations, projections, plans or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risk that bavituximab's safety profile in a repeat dose trial or in a combination therapy trial will not be at the same safety level as was found in the phase Ia trial, the risk that the results of future trials will not correlate to the results from the phase Ia trial, the risk that bavituximab will not be as well tolerated at ascending doses or show promising results in other viral indications, the risk that results of human studies using bavituximab plus radiation or chemotherapy will not correlate to the results of the preclinical studies and the risk that the commencement of planned clinical trials may be delayed. It is important to note that the company's actual results could differ materially from those in any such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, uncertainties associated with completing preclinical and clinical trials for our technologies; the early stage of product development; the significant costs to develop our products as all of our products are currently in development, preclinical studies or clinical trials; obtaining additional financing to support our operations and the development of our products; obtaining regulatory approval for our technologies; anticipated timing of regulatory filings and the potential success in gaining regulatory approval and complying with governmental regulations applicable to our business. Our business could be affected by a number of other factors, including the risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports including, but not limited to, the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2006 and the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the second fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2006. The Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. disclaims any obligation, and does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this press release.
Contacts:
GendeLLindheim BioCom Partners
Investors Media
info@peregrineinc.com Barbara Lindheim
(800) 987-8256 (212) 918-4650
-Financial tables to follow-
PEREGRINE PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
OCTOBER 31, APRIL 30,
2006 2006
Unaudited
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents 23,394,000 $17,182,000
Trade and other receivables 801,000 579,000
Inventories 1,899,000 885,000
Prepaid expenses and other current
assets 1,323,000 1,466,000
Total current assets 27,417,000 20,112,000
PROPERTY:
Leasehold improvements 640,000 618,000
Laboratory equipment 3,669,000 3,444,000
Furniture, fixtures and office equipment 666,000 666,000
4,975,000 4,728,000
Less accumulated depreciation and
amortization (3,055,000) (2,822,000)
Property, net 1,920,000 1,906,000
Other assets 468,000 658,000
TOTAL ASSETS $29,805,000 $22,676,000
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable $1,093,000 $1,233,000
Accrued clinical trial site fees 315,000 170,000
Accrued legal and accounting fees 76,000 250,000
Accrued royalties and license fees 164,000 138,000
Accrued payroll and related costs 974,000 850,000
Notes payable, current portion 443,000 429,000
Capital lease obligation, current portion 16,000 15,000
Deferred revenue 1,388,000 563,000
Other current liabilities 396,000 836,000
Total current liabilities 4,865,000 4,484,000
Notes payable, less current portion 273,000 498,000
Capital lease obligation, less current portion 39,000 47,000
Deferred license revenue 12,000 21,000
Commitments and contingencies
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:
Preferred stock -- $.001 par value;
authorized 5,000,000 shares; non-voting;
nil shares outstanding -- --
Common stock -- $.001 par value; authorized
250,000,000 shares; outstanding --
193,920,390 and 179,382,191, respectively 194,000 179,000
Additional paid-in capital 221,813,000 204,546,000
Deferred stock compensation -- (235,000)
Accumulated deficit (197,391,000) (186,864,000)
Total stockholders' equity 24,616,000 17,626,000
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $29,805,000 $22,676,000
PEREGRINE PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
THREE MONTHS ENDED SIX MONTHS ENDED
October 31, October 31, October 31, October 31,
2006 2005 2006 2005
Unaudited Unaudited Unaudited Unaudited
REVENUES:
Contract manufacturing
revenue 636,000 533,000 1,034,000 722,000
License revenue 48,000 23,000 71,000 42,000
Total revenues 684,000 556,000 1,105,000 764,000
COSTS AND EXPENSES:
Cost of contract
manufacturing 494,000 428,000 1,024,000 732,000
Research and
development 3,920,000 3,244,000 7,961,000 6,036,000
Selling, general and
administrative 1,670,000 1,570,000 3,311,000 3,087,000
Total costs and
expenses 6,084,000 5,242,000 12,296,000 9,855,000
LOSS FROM OPERATIONS (5,400,000) (4,686,000) (11,191,000) (9,091,000)
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE):
Interest and other
income 339,000 128,000 688,000 204,000
Interest and other
expense (9,000) (13,000) (24,000) (23,000)
NET LOSS ($5,070,000) ($4,571,000) ($10,527,000) ($8,910,000)
WEIGHTED AVERAGE
COMMON SHARES
OUTSTANDING:
Basic and Diluted 193,793,766 165,925,879 188,950,924 162,980,798
BASIC AND DILUTED
LOSS PER COMMON
SHARE ($0.03) ($0.03) ($0.06) ($0.05)
SOURCE Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc.