WELLESLEY, Mass., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Inc. , a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing a novel class of drug candidates known as TLR Therapeutics(TM), today reported financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2007.
FINANCIAL UPDATES
Financial Results for the Third Quarter
Net loss decreased in the third quarter of 2007 by $2.1 million to $6.4 million from a loss of $8.5 million in the same period of 2006. The decrease in net loss is due primarily to a $3.0 million reduction in operating expenses.
Revenue of $5.1 million in the third quarter of 2007 was substantially unchanged compared to the same period of 2006.
Research and development (R&D) expenses totaled $8.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2007 versus $11.0 million in the same period of 2006. The $2.4 million decrease in R&D expenses is primarily due to a reduction in clinical trial and drug development expenses associated with the suspension of the ACTILON(TM) clinical development program. Consistent with Coley's strategy to pioneer the development of second-generation TLR Therapeutics, discovery research and preclinical expenses within R&D increased $0.8 million over the same quarter in the prior year.
General and administrative (G&A) expenses were $2.8 million in the third quarter of 2007 versus $3.4 million in the third quarter of 2006. This decrease is primarily attributable to a reduction in external consulting fees.
As of September 30, 2007, unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $87.8 million compared to $107.0 million as of December 31, 2006. Shares outstanding at September 30, 2007 were approximately 26.6 million.
Financial Results for Nine Months Ended September 30, 2007
For the nine months ended September 30, 2007, Coley reported a net loss of $28.2 million versus $24.6 million in the same period of 2006. The $3.6 million increase in net loss is due primarily to a $16.8 million purchased technology charge which was associated with Coley's acquisition in June 2007 of 3M Company's therapeutic Toll-like receptor (TLR) assets, partially offset by an $11.0 million increase in revenue and a $3.7 million decrease in operating expenses.
Revenue increased by $11.0 million to $26.0 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2007 compared to the same period of 2006. Collaborator revenue increased by $10.4 million due primarily to license fees recognized in the second quarter of 2007 from Merck & Co., Inc. and Dynavax Technologies Corporation.
R&D expenses decreased by $5.3 million to $27.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 versus $32.7 million in the same period of 2006 primarily as a result of suspending the clinical development of ACTILON.
2007 year-to-date cash used by operations decreased by $14.9 million to $13.4 million compared to $28.3 million during the same period in 2006. The decrease is primarily due to an increase of $10.0 million in cash received from collaborators and a reduction in operating expenses, excluding the charge for purchased technology.
UPDATED 2007 Financial Guidance
Coley adjusted its full year financial guidance for net loss, R&D expenses, cash burn and year end cash, based on nine month financial results and on the timing and cost of ongoing and planned clinical trials. Coley estimates its full-year 2007 net loss to be in the range of $35.0 million to $37.0 million, full year R&D expenses to be approximately $37.0 million inclusive of stock compensation expense and estimated cash burn to be between $28.0 million to $30.0 million. Cash and securities at December 31, 2007 are estimated to range from $77.0 million to $79.0 million.
INVESTOR CALL
Coley will host an investor conference call at 4:30 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on November 1, 2007 with company management to discuss third quarter 2007 financial results.
To access the live audio broadcast or the subsequent archived recording of the call, please visit the Investor Center section of the Coley website at http://www.coleypharma.com. Please log onto Coley's website several minutes prior to the start of the call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required. A replay of this webcast will be available through November 15, 2007.
Investors may participate in the conference call by dialing either +1-888-713-4217 in the U.S. or +1-617-213-4869 outside the U.S. and typing in the passcode 20929767. A replay of this call will be available at +1-888-286-8010 (U.S.) or +1- 617-801-6888 (international) using the passcode 82770375 until November 15, 2007.
The webcast is also being distributed through the Thomson StreetEvents Network to both institutional and individual investors. Individual investors can listen to the call at http://www.fulldisclosure.com and institutional investors can access the call via http://www.streetevents.com.
About Coley Pharmaceutical Group
Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Inc. is an international biopharmaceutical company, headquartered in Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA, that discovers and develops TLR Therapeutics(TM), a new class of investigational drug candidates that direct the human immune system to fight cancers, allergy and asthma disorders, autoimmune diseases and to enhance the effectiveness of vaccines. Coley has established a pipeline of TLR Therapeutic product candidates currently advancing through clinical development and has additional product candidates in preclinical development. Coley has product development, research and license agreements with Pfizer, sanofi-aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novartis Vaccines and the United States government. For further information on Coley Pharmaceutical Group please visit http://www.coleypharma.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements in this news release concerning Coley's business are considered "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to Coley's estimated financial results for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2007. Any or all of the forward-looking statements in this press release may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions Coley might make or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: the early stage of product development; uncertainties as to the future success of ongoing and planned clinical trials; the risk that results from early stage clinical trials may not be indicative of results in later stage trials; the unproven safety and efficacy of products under development; intellectual property rights and litigation; competitive products; and other risks identified in Coley's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, but not limited to, Coley's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may vary materially. Coley undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
CONTACT: Susan Hager, Sr. Director, Investor Relations and Corporate
Communications of Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Inc., +1-781-431-9079,
shager@coleypharma.com; or Media, Karen L. Bergman,
kbergman@bccpartners.com, or Michelle Corral mcorral@bccpartners.com, both
of BCC Partners, +1-650-575-1509 or +1-415-794-8662, for Coley
Pharmaceutical Group, Inc.
Web site: http://www.coleypharma.com//
