BOTHELL, WA, and VANCOUVER, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“OncoGenex” or the “Company”) today reported unaudited financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2009 and reviewed the Company’s highlights for the second quarter of 2009.
The following consolidated results reflect the operations of OncoGenex Technologies Inc. (“OncoGenex Technologies”) prior to the August 21, 2008 reverse takeover of Sonus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Sonus”), and the consolidated results of OncoGenex thereafter.
The loss attributable to common shareholders for the second quarter increased to $4.6 million from $2.9 million in 2008. For the six months ended June 30, 2009 the loss attributable to common shareholders increased to $7.0 million from $5.4 million in 2008.
Research and development expenses for the second quarter increased to $3.6 million from $1.1 million in 2008. For the six months ended June 30, 2009 research and development expenses increased to $5.3 million from $2.0 million in 2008. The increases in 2009 were primarily due to manufacturing costs incurred in the first six months of 2009 associated with the development of our product candidates OGX-011 and OGX-427, an increase in employee expenses and higher facility costs resulting from the reverse takeover of Sonus. Reducing the expenses in the first six months of 2008 was a Scientific Research and Development (SRED) claim, which offset R D expenses in that period. The SRED program is a Canadian federal tax incentive program that encourages Canadian businesses to conduct research and development in Canada. As OncoGenex Technologies became an affiliate of a public company as a result of the reverse takeover, SRED claims can now only be applied against taxes payable.
General and administrative expenses for the second quarter increased to $1.0 million from $0.6 million in 2008. For the six months ended June 30, 2009 general and administrative expenses increased to $1.8 million from $1.2 million in 2008. The increases in 2009 were primarily due to increased employee expenses and increased costs associated with operating as a public company.
The second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2008 also included $0.8 million and $1.6 million respectively in preferred share accretion, a non-cash item, which did not recur in the second quarter or six months ended June 30, 2009, as subsequent to the reverse takeover there are no preferred shares outstanding.
The Company had $5.7 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of June 30, 2009, compared to $12.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of December 31, 2008.
On July 24, 2009, subsequent to the end of the second quarter, the Company announced that it had completed a registered direct offering of 475,000 shares of its common stock to institutional investors at a price of $20.00 per share, for gross proceeds of $9.5 million. The $20.00 offering price represented a 3.5% discount to the closing price on July 17, 2009, the last trading day prior to announcement. After deducting the estimated offering expenses payable by the Company, the net proceeds are expected to be approximately $9.4 million. The Company had 6,027,631 shares outstanding as at August 5, 2009. The Company believes that its cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will be sufficient to fund its currently planned operations at least through 2010, including:
Conference Call Today at 4:30 p.m. ET
OncoGenex management will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time today to provide a business update and discuss the first quarter results. A live webcast will be available through the Events and Presentations Web page found in the Investor Relations section of the OncoGenex Web site at www.ir.oncogenex.com. Alternatively, you may access the live conference call by dialing 877-548-7912 (U.S. Canada) or 719-325-4897 (International). A webcast replay will be available approximately two hours after the call and will be archived at the same Web location for 90 days.
About OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals
OncoGenex is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of new therapies that address unmet needs in the treatment of cancer. OncoGenex has a deep oncology pipeline, with each product candidate having a distinct mechanism of action and representing a unique opportunity for cancer drug development. OGX-011, the lead candidate that has completed five phase 2 clinical trials in prostate, lung and breast cancers, is designed to inhibit the production of a specific protein associated with treatment resistance; OGX-427 is in phase 1 clinical development; SN2310 has completed the phase 1 clinical trial; and CSP-9222 and OGX-225 are currently in pre-clinical development.
OGX-011, OGX-427 and OGX-225 utilize second-generation antisense technology, licensed from Isis Pharmaceuticals , to effectively target and inhibit production of specific proteins in tumor cells. OncoGenex and Isis partnered in the successful discovery of OGX-011, OGX-427 and OGX-225 and with respect to OGX-011, in its initial development. In 2008, OncoGenex and Isis amended their OGX-011 agreement to provide OncoGenex with sole rights to OGX-011 and sole responsibility for development and related costs and partnering decisions, subject to financial obligations to Isis. OncoGenex is also solely responsible for development and related costs and partnering decisions regarding OGX-427 and OGX-225. Key intellectual property related to OGX-011, OGX-427 and OGX-225 were discovered by the University of British Columbia and the Vancouver Prostate Centre, and were exclusively licensed to OncoGenex.
More information about OncoGenex is available at www.oncogenex.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the intended use and sufficiency of the Company’s cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, the company’s manufacturing readiness, prospects for securing a co-development and commercialization partner and planned phase 3 trials. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among others: the risk factors set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2008. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained herein or to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof, other than as may be required by applicable law.
SOURCE OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: OncoGenex Contact: Scott Cormack, President CEO, (604)
736-3678, scormack@oncogenex.com; Media and Investor Contact: Jason Spark,
Porter Novelli Life Sciences, (619) 849-6005, jspark@pnlifesciences.com
