Cell Genesys Reports Third Quarter Results
FOSTER CITY, Calif., October 22, 2001- Cell Genesys, Inc. reported a net loss of $22.4 million or $0.64 per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2001. This compares with a net loss of $0.3 million or $0.01 per share in the same quarter of 2000. The increased net loss is due primarily to a one-time charge of $18.0 million or $0.52 per share relating to the acquisition of Calydon, Inc.-an acquisition which added a third product platform to Cell Genesys' deep pipeline of cancer product candidates. Cell Genesys ended the quarter with approximately $220 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. Revenues for the quarter ended September 30, 2001 were $4.6 million, compared with $5.1 million in the comparable period of 2000. Research and development costs were $12.4 million in the third quarter ended September 30, 2001, compared with $7.5 million for the comparable period of 2000-an increase which can be attributed to the company's expanding clinical stage product programs for cancer.
"Cell Genesys has exceptional financial resources of nearly a half billion dollars divided approximately equally between cash and the value of our equity interest in Abgenix, our former subsidiary," stated Stephen A. Sherwin, M.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Cell Genesys. "These financial assets will continue to provide the foundation for the development and commercialization of our deep pipeline of cancer products which includes three potential candidates for Phase III trials during the next 12 to 18 months."
Cell Genesys Highlights for the Third Quarter of 2001:
* Completed the acquisition of Calydon, Inc., a private biotechnology company developing oncolytic virus therapies for cancer, for approximately $17 million in Cell Genesys stock. The acquisition provided Cell Genesys with a third product platform in addition to cancer vaccines and cancer gene therapies as well as a late stage product, CG7060, for early stage prostate cancer which could enter a Phase III clinical trial within the next 18 months.
* Reported in the journal, Cancer Research, that CG8900, an oncolytic virus therapy engineered to target and destroy liver cancer cells, demonstrated significant synergistic antitumor activity in a mouse model when used in combination with doxorubicin, a chemotherapeutic agent commonly used in the treatment of liver cancer.
* Announced the expansion of the executive management team with the appointment of Peter K. Working, Ph.D. as vice president of research and development and the promotion of Joseph J. Vallner, Ph.D. to the position of president and chief operating officer. Also announced the election of Thomas E. Shenk, Ph.D., a world-renowned expert in virology, to the company's board of directors.
* Announced that the company exclusively licensed its proprietary lentiviral gene delivery technology to Invitrogen Corporation for commercialization in the research market. Under the agreement, Cell Genesys will receive royalties on worldwide sales of kits, products and services employing lentiviral vectors as well as a share of any sublicense payments.
* Reported in the journal, Circulation Research, that preclinical studies of p27/p16 gene therapy demonstrated in porcine models potent inhibition of restenosis, a complication of angioplasty treatment for coronary artery disease. Gene therapy with p27/p16, a novel cell cycle inhibitor gene, is also being evaluated in preclinical antitumor models.
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Topic world Gene therapy
Genetic diseases once considered untreatable are now at the center of innovative therapeutic approaches. Research and development of gene therapies in biotech and pharma aim to directly correct or replace defective or missing genes to combat disease at the molecular level. This revolutionary approach promises not only to treat symptoms, but to eliminate the cause of the disease itself.
