BRANFORD, Conn., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CuraGen Corporation , today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and calendar year of 2008 and provided milestone and financial guidance for the first half of 2009.
During the three month period ended December 31, 2008, CuraGen utilized $3.8 million of cash and investments and ended the fourth quarter with $88 million of cash and investments. At December 31, 2008, CuraGen has outstanding $19 million of 4% convertible subordinated notes due February 2011 with a market value of approximately $15 million. For the quarter ended December 31, 2008, CuraGen reported total operating expenses of $4.1 million, compared to total operating expenses of $11.1 million during the same period in 2007. Included in fourth quarter operating expenses is approximately $0.5 million of restructuring charges for a reduction in work force undertaken in December 2008.
"We currently have $88 million of cash and investments on hand and an attractive Phase II development asset that shows activity in metastatic melanoma and promise in breast cancer." commented Dr. Timothy M. Shannon, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are encouraged by the activity CR011-vcMMAE has demonstrated to date and we will be releasing additional data on our two ongoing trials in the second quarter of 2009" commented Dr. Shannon.
2009 Milestones and Financial Guidance
The following statements are based on CuraGen's current expectations. These statements are forward-looking and actual results may differ materially. Please see the note regarding Forward-Looking Statements in this release for a description of certain important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ and refer to CuraGen's periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete description of the risks.
Anticipated milestones for CR011-vcMMAE through June 2009 include:
CuraGen expects to use an average of $3.5 to $4.0 million of cash and investments per quarter in the first half of 2009 to fund operations and also expects to end the second quarter of 2009 with between $80 and $81 million of cash and investments.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release regarding management's future expectations, beliefs, intentions, goals, strategies, plans or prospects, including statements relating to the Company's revenue, expenses, depreciation, amortization, asset impairment charges, losses, income, and future cash and investment positions, the timing and expected results of our clinical programs, and the development and marketability of planned drugs, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "could increase the likelihood," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is planned," "may," "should," "will," "will enable," "would be expected," "look forward," "may provide," "would" or similar terms, variations of such terms or the negative of those terms. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors including the risk that any one or more of CuraGen's drug development programs will not proceed as planned for technical, scientific or commercial reasons or due to patient enrollment issues or based on new information from nonclinical or clinical studies or from other sources, the success of competing products and technologies, CuraGen's stage of development as a biopharmaceutical company, government regulation and healthcare reform, technological uncertainty and product development risks, product liability exposure, uncertainty of additional funding, CuraGen's history of incurring losses and the uncertainty of achieving profitability, reliance on research collaborations and strategic alliances, competition, patent infringement claims against CuraGen's products, processes and technologies, CuraGen's ability to protect its patents and proprietary rights and uncertainties relating to commercialization rights, as well as those risks, uncertainties and factors referred to in CuraGen's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the section "Risk Factors," as well as other documents that may be filed by CuraGen from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result of such risks, uncertainties and factors, CuraGen's actual results may differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements discussed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. CuraGen is providing the information in this press release as of this date and assumes no obligations to update the information included in this press release or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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- FINANCIAL TABLES ATTACHED -
CONTACT: Sean Cassidy, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer,
+1-203-871-4400, scassidy@curagen.com
