TUSTIN, Calif., Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, today announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2008 ended October 31, 2007. The company reported a consolidated net loss of $6,207,000, or $0.03 per basic and diluted share, compared to a consolidated net loss of $5,070,000 or $0.03 per basic and diluted share for the same prior year period. The increased net loss primarily reflects increased investments in research and development as the company advanced its clinical programs for bavituximab and Cotara(R).
Total revenues for the current quarter increased to $1,892,000 compared to $684,000 for the comparable quarter last year, and were primarily generated from services provided by Avid Bioservices, the company’s wholly owned contract manufacturing subsidiary.
Total costs and expenses increased to $8,445,000 in the second quarter of fiscal year 2008 from $6,084,000 in the same prior year quarter. The increase was primarily related to the increase in the cost of contract manufacturing during the quarter resulting from higher reported revenues from external customers, in addition to an increase in research and development expenses associated with the advancement of the company’s clinical and preclinical product candidates.
At October 31, 2007, the company had $26,138,000 in cash and cash equivalents compared to $16,044,000 at fiscal year end April 30, 2007.
“We are very optimistic about the future prospects of the company as we move into the new year. With several Phase II clinical studies either underway or in the process of starting, with Defense Department contract negotiations proceeding nicely and with our research collaborations providing exciting new data on a number of our programs, 2008 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Peregrine,” said Steven W. King, president and CEO of Peregrine. “In addition, we believe there are multiple opportunities for turning some of these developments into partnering opportunities that could create significant value for the company. We intend to continue working closely with our bankers and analyst team to promote our story to institutional investors and are optimistic that the combination of delivering on our product development milestones, executing our business development initiatives and continuing to ramp up our investor outreach efforts should result in significant value creation for our stockholders going forward.”
Recent Highlights
Bavituximab Anti-Cancer Program: The company achieved a number of clinical and preclinical advancements in the bavituximab cancer program.
Bavituximab Anti-Viral Program: The company continued to advance its bavituximab HCV program and presented positive data at a key liver disease meeting.
Cotara(R) Glioblastoma Program: The company made significant advancements in moving its Cotara brain cancer program forward.
Preclinical Anti-Cancer Programs: Researchers affiliated with Peregrine presented data at scientific conferences highlighting the clinical potential of the company’s preclinical pipeline.
Conference Call:
The company will host a conference call today, December 10, 2007 at 11:30 a.m. EST/ 8:30 a.m. PST to discuss its second quarter FY 2008 financial results.
To listen to a live broadcast of the call over the Internet or to review the archived call, please visit: www.peregrineinc.com. The webcast will be archived on Peregrine’s website for approximately 30 days.
To listen to the conference call via telephone, please call the following number approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time and request to join the Peregrine Pharmaceuticals call: 1 (800) 860-2442. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available starting approximately one hour after the conclusion of the call through December 17, 2007 by calling (877) 344-7529, passcode 382933#.
About Peregrine Pharmaceuticals
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of innovative product candidates in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The company is pursuing three separate clinical programs in cancer and HCV infection with its lead product candidates bavituximab and Cotara(R). Peregrine also has in-house manufacturing capabilities through its wholly owned subsidiary Avid Bioservices, Inc. (http://www.avidbio.com), which provides development and bio-manufacturing services for both Peregrine and outside customers. Additional information about Peregrine can be found at www.peregrineinc.com.
Safe Harbor Statement: Statements in this press release which are not purely historical, including statements regarding Peregrine Pharmaceuticals’ intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations, projections, plans or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to the risk that the company may experience delays in clinical trial patient enrollment, the risk that Avid’s revenue growth may slow or decline, the risk that future protocol submissions may not be approved, the risk that the company may not be able to monetize any of its assets, and the uncertainty as to whether the company will successfully consummate a contract with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. It is important to note that the company’s actual results could differ materially from those in any such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, uncertainties associated with completing preclinical and clinical trials for our technologies; the early stage of product development; the significant costs to develop our products as all of our products are currently in development, preclinical studies or clinical trials; obtaining additional financing to support our operations and the development of our products; obtaining regulatory approval for our technologies; anticipated timing of regulatory filings and the potential success in gaining regulatory approval and complying with governmental regulations applicable to our business. Our business could be affected by a number of other factors, including the risk factors listed from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports including, but not limited to, the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2007 and the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the second fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2007. The company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. disclaims any obligation, and does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this press release.
info@peregrineinc.com
CONTACT: GendeLLindheim BioCom Partners: Investors, 1-800-987-8256,
info@peregrineinc.com, or Media, Barbara Lindheim, +1-212-918-4650
Web site: http://www.peregrineinc.com/
http://www.avidbio.com/
