Echo Therapeutics Announces 2010 Financial Results

FRANKLIN, Mass., March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Echo Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ECTE), a company developing its needle-free Symphony tCGM System as a non-invasive, wireless, transdermal continuous glucose monitoring (tCGM) system and its Prelude SkinPrep System for transdermal drug delivery, today announced results for the year ended December 31, 2010. Echo’s Annual Report on Form 10-K is available through Echo’s website at www.echotx.com.

Corporate Highlights:

• In February 2010, Echo Therapeutics, Inc. announced an additional advance in the product design of Symphony with the development of its next generation electronic component package. This important advance included an initial 33% reduction in component size and improved architectural design as compared to the prototype electronic package of the Company’s earlier Symphony tCGM device.
• Echo Therapeutics’ needle-free Symphony tCGM System was profiled in a March 31, 2010 online article in Scientific American Magazine entitled “This Really Won’t Hurt a Bit: Wireless Sensor Promises Diabetics Noninvasive Blood Sugar Readings,” which discusses the importance of continuous glucose monitoring. Another article, “Echo Therapeutics’ Needle-Free Symphony Continuous Glucose Monitoring System,” was featured in the November 29, 2010 issue of Diabetes Health Magazine.
• In August 2010, following final product development work of the Prelude SkinPrep System, Echo Therapeutics and Ferndale Pharma Group successfully completed a clinical trial that determined the efficacy of Prelude in enhancing the onset of activity of 4% lidocaine cream.
• In November 2010, Echo Therapeutics’ licensing partner, Ferndale Pharma Group, submitted a 510(k) premarket notification to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Prelude SkinPrep System and 4% lidocaine cream.

“We made very tangible progress during 2010 on all of our key programs and we achieved some very important milestones, including the successful submission of a 510(k) premarket notification to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for our Prelude device to enhance the delivery of 4% topical lidocaine cream with our partner Ferndale Pharma Group,” commented Patrick T. Mooney, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Echo Therapeutics. “Additionally, we raised significant capital to fund our operations aggressively through final development.”

Fiscal Year 2010 Financial Results

For fiscal year 2010, the Company was principally involved with the product development and clinical studies of its Prelude SkinPrep System. Through licenses with Ferndale and Handok, the company recognized license fee revenue amortization of approximately $226,000 for fiscal 2010. During fiscal year 2010, the Company received approximately $245,000 in other income related to a federal grant under the Qualified Therapeutic Discovery Projects Grants Program. The Company’s operating expenses for fiscal year 2010 of $5.3 million decreased by approximately $0.5 million compared with fiscal year 2009. The net loss for fiscal 2010 was $4.1 million, or ($0.15) per share, compared to a net loss of $11.0 million, or ($0.61) per share for fiscal 2009. The Company reported a cash balance of approximately $5.1 million as of March 18, 2011 as a result of equity financings completed during the period January 2011 to March 18, 2011.

2011 Outlook

Echo Therapeutics’ management reiterated its expectations for the 2011 outlook:

“As we continue to build on our positive momentum, we are focused on completing several key milestones during 2011 that we believe will significantly increase shareholder value. We anticipate a listing on a national exchange in the near-term which will allow us to maximize our outreach to a new, untapped investor base. Additionally, we hope to gain product clearance for our Prelude System with our licensee Ferndale which will enable the company to begin generating near-term revenue,” Dr. Mooney concluded. “This year we plan to aggressively advance our clinical development of our Symphony system, clearing the path for an application to the FDA for marketing clearance. We anticipate securing additional strategic partner licensing arrangements while we begin manufacturing scale-up for Prelude’s product validation and planned product launch in the second half of 2011.”

About Echo Therapeutics

Echo is developing the Symphony tCGM System as a non-invasive, wireless, transdermal continuous glucose monitoring system for use in hospital critical care units and for patients with diabetes. Echo is also developing its needle-free Prelude SkinPrep System as a platform technology for enhanced skin permeation for transdermal drug delivery of a wide range of novel topical reformulations of widely-used, FDA-approved products.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks related to regulatory approvals and the success of Echo’s and its licensees’ ongoing studies, including the efficacy of Echo’s Symphony tCGM and Prelude SkinPrep Systems, the failure of future development and preliminary marketing efforts related to Echo’s Symphony tCGM and Prelude SkinPrep Systems, Echo’s ability to secure additional commercial partnering arrangements, risks and uncertainties relating to Echo’s and its licensees’ ability to develop, market and sell diagnostic and transdermal drug delivery products based on its skin permeation platform technologies, including the Symphony tCGM and Prelude SkinPrep Systems, the availability of substantial additional equity or debt capital to support its research, development and product commercialization activities, and the success of its research, development, regulatory approval, marketing and distribution plans and strategies, including those plans and strategies related to its Symphony tCGM and Prelude SkinPrep Systems. These and other risks and uncertainties are identified and described in more detail in Echo’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and its current reports on Form 8-K. Echo undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE Echo Therapeutics, Inc.