TORONTO, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - ChondroGene Limited today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2005. The Company reported revenues of $891,388 for the period, compared to $228,037 for the three months ended September 30, 2004. Revenues were attributable to fees for service and amortization of the one time payment under the research collaboration with Pfizer that was announced in December 2004. The net loss for the quarter was $1,463,051 or $0.04 per share, compared to a net loss of $1,822,753 or $0.05 per share for the three-month period ended September 30, 2004. Revenues for the first nine months of 2005 were $3,268,911 with a net loss of $3,321,191 or $0.08 per share, compared to revenues of $666,688 with a net loss of $5,195,075 or $0.15 per share, for the corresponding period in 2004. At the end of the quarter, the Company had $6,680,757 in cash and cash equivalents.
“During the quarter we made significant advances in developing our lead product, a blood test for the detection of colorectal cancer and precancerous polyps. The test is based on over 2,000 samples collected from average risk patients undergoing colonoscopy. Our data shows our blood test to be comparable in diagnostic performance with colonoscopy, a more invasive and costly test that has become the de facto gold standard for the detection of colorectal cancer. We expect to begin clinical testing of our colorectal cancer test in the first half of 2006,” stated K. Wayne Marshall, President and CEO of ChondroGene. “We have also made exciting progress in developing our second product, a blood test to detect prostate cancer.”
“Our network of partners has also expanded. During the quarter, we entered into a broad alliance with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), one of the leading biomedical research and health science education centers in the world. The alliance with UCSF will enable ChondroGene to collaborate with UCSF scientists and clinicians under a single umbrella agreement. In addition, we entered into an agreement with Kaiser Permanente, America’s leading healthcare plan with over 8.2 million members in 9 states, to jointly develop a genomic database to house the clinical information generated by Kaiser Permanente researchers from their anticipated use of tests developed using ChondroGene’s proprietary Sentinel Principle”.
About ChondroGene
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ChondroGene is focussed on the application of functional genomics to enable early diagnosis and personalized therapeutic intervention based on disease-specific biomarkers. The Company has developed a novel approach, the Sentinel Principle, to detect and stage virtually any disease or medical condition from a simple blood sample. ChondroGene is currently applying the Sentinel Principle in major areas with unmet clinical needs such as cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders. For more information on ChondroGene, visit www.chondrogene.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company’s current expectations regarding future events. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected herein. Investors should consult the Company’s ongoing quarterly filings and annual reports for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. (Financial statements follow.) ChondroGene Limited Consolidated Balance Sheets Amounts in Canadian dollars “Unaudited” ------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 30 December 31 2005 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 6,680,757 $ 6,381,870 Accounts receivable 57,986 5,520,470 Investment tax credits recoverable 800,000 800,000 Prepaid expenses and deposits 508,711 277,563 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 8,047,454 12,979,903 Capital assets 1,200,033 1,098,080 Intellectual property 1,395,213 1,726,823 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- $ 10,642,700 $ 15,804,806 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- LIABILITIES and SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 1,043,849 $ 1,332,356 Deferred revenue 2,821,729 4,860,274 Current portion of long term debt 131,418 123,869 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3,996,996 6,316,499 Long term debt 142,912 241,976 Shareholders’ equity: Capital stock 20,138,831 20,021,789 Contributed surplus 1,388,457 927,847 Deficit (15,024,496) (11,703,305) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 6,502,792 9,246,331 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- $ 10,642,700 $ 15,804,806 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ChondroGene Limited Consolidated Statements of Operations and Deficit Amounts in Canadian dollars “Unaudited” ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 months 3 months 9 months 9 months ended ended ended ended September 30 September 30 September 30 September 30 2005 2004 2005 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenue Milestones $ - $ - $ 612,600 $ - Fees for service 204,697 228,037 617,829 666,688 One-time payment 686,691 - 2,037,682 - ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 891,388 228,037 3,268,111 666,688 Expenses Research and development 1,770,152 1,443,626 4,697,898 4,230,085 General and administrative 368,069 282,366 1,210,560 804,780 Stock compensation 141,121 225,435 460,610 532,102 Amortization of intellectual property 110,537 110,538 331,610 331,613 Interest on long term debt 8,385 4,463 27,874 4,463 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,398,264 2,066,428 6,728,552 5,903,043 Interest income 43,825 15,638 139,250 41,280 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net loss for the period (1,463,051) (1,822,753) (3,321,191) (5,195,075) Deficit, beginning of period (13,561,445) (9,458,481) (11,703,305) (6,086,159) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deficit, end of period $(15,024,496) $(11,281,234) $(15,024,496) $(11,281,234) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net loss per common share Basic and fully diluted $ (0.04) $ (0.05) $ (0.08) $ (0.15) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weighted average number of common shares outstanding Basic and fully diluted 39,504,397 35,534,779 39,388,318 34,079,876 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ChondroGene Limited Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Amounts in Canadian dollars “Unaudited” ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 months 3 months 9 months 9 months ended ended ended ended September 30 September 30 September 30 September 30 2005 2004 2005 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash flows provided by (used in): Operations: Net loss for the period $ (1,463,051) $ (1,822,753) $ (3,321,191) $ (5,195,075) Items therein not requiring cash Stock based compensation 141,121 225,435 460,610 532,102 Amortization of capital assets 75,047 80,042 241,570 227,332 Amortization of intellectual property 110,537 110,538 331,610 331,613 --------------------------------------------------------------------- (1,136,346) (1,406,738) (2,287,401) (4,104,028) Changes in non-cash working capital: Accounts receivable (16,903) (26,297) 5,462,484 1,395,186 Prepaid expenses and deposits (181,193) 86,819 (231,148) 82,850 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 309,597 293,730 (288,507) 483,730 Deferred revenue (686,949) 466 (2,038,545) 262 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (1,711,794) (1,052,020) 616,883 (2,142,000) Financing: Net proceeds from issue of capital stock - 6,662,394 117,042 6,669,476 Proceeds from issue of long term debt - 403,983 - 403,983 Payments on long term debt (31,412) (9,610) (91,515) (9,610) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (31,412) 7,056,767 25,527 7,063,849 Investments: Additions to capital assets (31,885) (60,150) (343,523) (171,228) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (1,775,091) 5,944,597 298,887 4,750,621 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 8,455,848 1,370,373 6,381,870 2,564,349 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 6,680,757 $ 7,314,970 $ 6,680,757 $ 7,314,970 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
ChondroGene Limited
CONTACT: Dr. K. Wayne Marshall, President & CEO, (416) 650-0060 x234,wmarshall@chondrogene.com; Bruno Maruzzo, Corporate Development, (416)650-0060 x237, bmaruzzo@chondrogene.com
