Chippenham, UK – 24 November 2008: Vectura Group plc (LSE: VEC) (“Vectura”), the inhaled product development company, today announces its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2008.
Financial Highlights
• Revenues increased 9% to £13.3m (2007/08 H1: £12.3m)
• Gross profit up 17% to £11.4m (2007/08 H1: £9.8m)
• Investment in research and development up 10% to £16.1m (2007/08 H1: £14.6m)
• Cash and cash equivalents of £73.8m at 30 September 2008 (£78.8m at 31 March 2008)
• Net cash outflow of £5.0m (2007/08 H1: £6.1m)
Operational and Product Highlights
• Boehringer Ingelheim - achievement of milestone on collaboration to develop a new dry powder inhaler (DPI) - €7.5m cash received in November 2008
• Sandoz, the generics division of Novartis, confirmed as licensee for Vectura’s combination asthma/COPD products, VR315 and VR632
• NVA237 Phase II data presented at the European Respiratory Society meeting showed similar efficacy and duration of action to Spiriva®, with potentially a more rapid onset of action
• Start of Phase II studies with VR496 for cystic fibrosis with the potential for use in reversible/irreversible airways disease such as asthma and/or COPD
Dr Chris Blackwell, Chief Executive of Vectura, commented:
“Vectura’s pipeline and technology platforms continued to progress well during 2008. Our recent milestone from Boehringer Ingelheim resulting from our collaboration to develop a new dry powder inhaler, as well as the positive data presented by Novartis on our COPD drug, NVA237, at the October 2008 European Respiratory Society meeting, underline Vectura’s involvement in high-value respiratory product development. As expected, our revenues are growing and we have maintained a strong cash position, whilst maintaining solid investment in our core development activities.”
“Over the course of the next 12 months we will progress our proprietary pipeline and look forward to the start of registration studies on some of our partnered respiratory programmes, with the expectation of receiving significant revenues from milestones as these move closer to the market.”
About Vectura
Vectura Group plc is a product development company focused on the development of inhaled therapies principally for the treatment of respiratory diseases. Vectura develops products to treat respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cystic fibrosis (CF), a market which is forecast to double from $23bn in 2007 to $46bn by 2017. Vectura also develops products for non-respiratory diseases, where optimised delivery via the lungs could provide significant benefits, such as a rapid onset of action, improved efficacy and improved tolerability compared with current therapies.
Vectura has eight products marketed by its partners and a portfolio of drugs in clinical and pre-clinical development, some of which have been licensed to major pharmaceutical companies. The Company seeks to develop certain programmes further through development to optimise value through licensing at a later stage. Vectura’s formulation and inhalation technologies are available to other pharmaceutical companies on a licensing basis where this complements Vectura’s business strategy.
Vectura has development collaborations with several pharmaceutical companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis and Sandoz (the generics arm of Novartis). The acquisition of Innovata in January 2007 brought established alliances with a number of additional companies, such as Baxter, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Mylan Inc, UCB and Otsuka, as well as providing revenue streams, complementary products and critical mass. For further information, please visit Vectura’s website at www.vectura.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements”, including statements about the discovery, development and commercialisation of products. Various risks may cause Vectura’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including adverse results in clinical development programmes; failure to obtain patent protection for inventions; commercial limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; dependence upon strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialise products and services; difficulties or delays in obtaining regulatory approvals to market products and services resulting from development efforts; the requirement for substantial funding to conduct research and development and to expand commercialisation activities; and product initiatives by competitors. As a result of these factors, prospective investors are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
