BRANFORD, Conn., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CuraGen Corporation (Nasdaq: CRGN) announced today that it is undertaking a review of a broad range of strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value.
Robert E. Patricelli, Chairman of the Board of CuraGen commented that “The Board believes that management is making exciting progress as CR011 moves through the current Phase II clinical trials and that it has taken the necessary actions over the past two years to ensure that CuraGen is a well capitalized organization in a difficult external financing environment. The Board further believes we should consider strategic alternatives that could enhance shareholder value. These alternatives range from selling or licensing CR011, to acquiring additional assets or business lines, to selling the company. The company will retain an investment bank to assist the Board with its strategic review. During our evaluation process, management will remain focused on executing our current business plan.”
Dr. Timothy M. Shannon, President and Chief Executive Officer, also announced that CuraGen has retained JSB-Partners to identify potential acquirers of CR011-vcMMAE. “In an ongoing multi-center study in heavily pretreated patients with breast cancer, CR011 is well tolerated and there is early evidence of activity. Our Phase II program in melanoma also continues to show promising activity”, commented Dr. Shannon. “The potential to move CR011-vcMMAE into more advanced development in both patients with breast cancer and patients with melanoma makes this a good time to seek strategic interest in the marketplace.”
There is no assurance that this process will result in any changes to the Company’s current business plans or lead to any specific action or transaction. While the process is underway, the Company does not intend or expect to disclose any developments regarding the process until, if ever, a definitive agreement is entered into or the board determines to terminate the process.
“We ended 2008 with $88 million of cash and investments on hand, have a clinically active attractive Phase II development asset, and over $500 million in net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs). Yet, our stock price does not reflect the intrinsic value of our assets and we continue to trade at a deep discount to our cash.” commented Dr. Shannon. “We seek to address these value disconnects through the strategic review process.”
The Company also recently completed a privately negotiated transaction with a holder of the Company’s 4% Convertible Subordinated Notes due February 2011 (the “2011 Notes”) in which the Company retired a total of $4.8 million of the 2011 Notes for an aggregate purchase price of $3.8 million or a 21% discount off of face value. This transaction added $1.0 million of net cash to the Company’s balance sheet. The Company now has $14.1 million of the 2011 Notes outstanding. The Company’s burn guidance for the first half of 2009 remains unchanged at $7.0 to $8.0 million and the Company now expects to end the second quarter of 2009 with between $76 and $77 million of cash and investments.
Conference Call Details and Dial-in Information Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 Time: 11:00 a.m. EST Dial-in: 877-856-1955 (domestic) 719-325-4796 (international) Webcast: Access available at http://www.curagen.com
Replays will be available starting at 2 pm, EST, February 18, 2009 until midnight, March 18, 2009 at 888-203-1112, passcode-8727431
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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Contacts: Sean Cassidy Vice President and Chief Financial Officer scassidy@curagen.com 203-871-4400
