PARIS, July 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ExonHit Therapeutics S.A. (Alternext : ALEHT), a drug and diagnostic discovery company, announces today its consolidated revenues for the first half of 2006.
Total revenues increased by 46% to EUR 3.2 million for the first half of 2006 as compared to EUR 2.2 million recorded for the first half of 2005.
This strong growth in total revenues is due to a 48% increase of Research and Development revenues to EUR 3.2 million for the first half of 2006, as compared to EUR 2.2 million recorded for the first half of 2005. Meanwhile, no revenues coming from subsidies were recorded for the first six months of 2006 as compared to EUR 0.04 million recorded for the same period in 2005. Research and Development revenues for the first half of 2006 came at 67% from our Allergan collaboration, down from the 83% recorded for the first half of 2005.
The significant increase in Research and Development revenues is due to:
- the strong increase in revenues recognized in our diagnostics activities following the new Research and Development agreement entered into with bioMerieux in October 2005. Revenues come both from the Research and Development payments for the research of a blood diagnostic for the detection of colon cancer and from the achievement of an important milestone in the development of a blood diagnostic for the detection of breast cancer;
- the significant growth in revenues generated by sales of a new generation of tools for genomic research, SpliceArrays(TM). The service activity to research laboratories, especially in the USA, and the first direct sales of SpliceArrays(TM) recorded in 2006 in the framework of our extended agreements with Agilent are in constant development; and,
- the increase of revenues generated by our therapeutics activities, resulting from an increase of Research and Development payments received in US dollars from Allergan as well as a more favourable EUR/US dollar exchange rate for the first half of 2006 than in 2005.
The decrease in other revenues results from the company’s decision to limit its involvement in European Union backed programs only to the programs that correspond exactly to its business plan.
Bruno Tocque, Chairman of the Executive Board, said: “We have recorded a strong growth of our revenues for each market on which we are determined to bring the innovation the Life Science industry expects. This increase in the revenues is sustainable. On this solid basis, we will be in the coming years in a position to accrue additional milestones and royalties on projects developed with our partners or on our own behalf. I am particularly satisfied with the development of our SpliceArray(TM) activity in the US. We have already recorded during the first half of 2006 the same level of revenues as for the entire year of 2005. In addition, the discovery of a breast cancer diagnostic from blood, with our partner bioMerieux, will drastically change the way patients are treated, and we are currently recording revenues on our second project to develop a diagnostics test for colon cancer. Finally, Allergan continues to provide us with the majority of our revenues while strongly investing on the compounds identified together.
During this year, we will continue in our commitment to progress in each of our businesses while keeping the serious and conservative financial policy that has always been applied at ExonHit, in order to build a Life Science European leader focused on discovery for the satisfaction of our shareholders and collaborators.”
Calendar
Results for the first half of 2006 will be published on September 20, 2006.
About ExonHit Therapeutics
ExonHit Therapeutics is the world’s leader in the analysis of alternative RNA splicing, a process which when deregulated plays a key role in the onset of various diseases.
ExonHit has a multi-component commercial strategy to capture the maximum value from its leadership in alternative splicing. The Company is already generating revenues from a new generation of microarrays, “SpliceArrays,” that enable life science researchers to detect crucial disease-associated information. These products are marketed worldwide in conjunction with Agilent and Affymetrix. In the field of diagnostics, ExonHit has a major collaboration with bioMerieux to develop completely novel predictive blood-based cancer diagnostics, which could play a key role in improving the treatment of breast cancer and other major cancers.
In parallel, ExonHit is developing its own therapeutic pipeline in the field of neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. The Company has advanced drug candidates into clinical trials and is evaluating several promising pre-clinical compounds. ExonHit also has a strategic partnership with Allergan, to discover and develop new therapeutics in the areas of pain, neurological diseases and ophthalmology. This collaboration provides on-going research funding to ExonHit.
Founded in 1997, ExonHit is headquartered in Paris, France and has a U.S. facility in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The Company is listed on Alternext of Euronext Paris since November 17, 2005.
Contacts ExonHit Therapeutics Bruno Tocque, C.E.O. Tel:+33-1-58-05-47-00 Philippe Rousseau, C.F.O. philippe.rousseau@exonhit.com
This press release includes only summary information and does not purport to be comprehensive. The projections, forecast and estimates of ExonHit Therapeutics which may be contained herein are for illustrative purposes only and are based on management’s current views and assumptions. Such projections, forecast and estimates involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, as described at Section 4.2 “Facteurs de risque” (Risk Factors) of the Document de Base available on ExonHit Therapeutics’ website (www.exonhit.com), that may cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those anticipated in the summary information.
In addition, ExonHit Therapeutics, its shareholders, and its affiliates, directors, officers, advisors and employees have not verified the accuracy of, and make no representations or warranties in relation to, statistical data or predictions contained in this press release that were taken or derived from third party sources or industry publications, and such statistical data and predictions are used in this press release for information purposes only.
Finally, this press release may be drafted in the French and English languages. In an event of differences between the texts, the French language version shall prevail.
ExonHit Therapeutics SA
CONTACT: ExonHit Therapeutics:Bruno Tocque, C.E.O.,Tel:+33-1-58-05-47-00;Philippe Rousseau, C.F.O., philippe.rousseau@exonhit.com
