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METHYLGENE REPORTS THIRD QUARTER 2008 FINANCIAL RESULTS
Montreal, Quebec. November 10, 2008 – MethylGene Inc. (TSX: MYG), today announced its financial results for the third quarter and nine-month period ended September 30, 2008.
Financial Results Reported in Canadian Dollars
Revenue for the three-month period ended September 30, 2008 was $5.8 million compared to revenue of $3.7 million for the third quarter of 2007. This $2.1 million increase in revenue is due to the amortization of an additional $2.0 million into license and upfront fees from unearned revenue reflecting MethylGene’s conversion of the agreement with Celgene Corporation as reported in September. Total expenses for the quarter ended September 30, 2008 of $9.2 million were marginally lower versus the third quarter of 2007. The Company reported a net loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2008 of $3.3 million or $0.09 per share compared to a net loss of $5.6 million or $0.15 per share for the same period last year. The decrease in net loss is primarily due to increased revenue and a foreign exchange gain in 2008 versus a foreign exchange loss in 2007.
Revenue for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2008 was $14.3 million compared to revenue of $10.9 million for the same period in 2007. The increase in revenue was related to MethylGene’s conversion of the Celgene agreement as noted above and higher clinical trial related revenues and research revenues from both Celgene and Otsuka Pharmaceutical. Total expenses for the nine-month period were $30.3 million compared to $25.9 million for the same nine-month period last year, mainly due to drug development expenditures for MGCD0103, MGCD265 and MGCD290, as well as higher legal and professional costs which were partially offset by foreign exchange gains. The Company reported a net loss for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2008 of $15.9 million or $0.43 per share compared to a net loss of $15.0 million or $0.42 per share for the same period last year.
At September 30, 2008 MethylGene had $42.8 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The Company estimates that its current financial resources will be sufficient to carry out its current development plans into approximately the third quarter of 2010.
About MethylGene
MethylGene Inc. (TSX: MYG) is a publicly-traded, clinical stage, biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for cancer. The Company’s product candidates include: MGCD265, an oral, multi-targeted kinase inhibitor targeting the c-Met, Tie-2, Ron and VEGF receptor tyrosine kinases which is in Phase I clinical trials for solid tumor cancers; MGCD290, a fungal Hos2 (HDAC) inhibitor used in combination with azoles for fungal infections which is also in a Phase I clinical trial; and MGCD0103, an oral, isoform-selective HDAC inhibitor which has been in multiple clinical trials for solid tumors and hematological malignancies and is licensed to Taiho Pharmaceutical. MethylGene's development and commercialization partners include Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and EnVivo Pharmaceuticals. Please visit our website at www.methylgene.com.
Certain statements contained in this news release, other than statements of fact that are independently verifiable at the date hereof, may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management of MethylGene, inherently involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, many of which are beyond MethylGene’s control. These risks and uncertainties could cause future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such results, performance or achievements include, but are not limited to, the timing and effects of regulatory action; the continuation of collaborations; the results of clinical trials; the timing of enrollment or completion of clinical trials; the success, efficacy or safety of MGCD0103, MGCD265 or MGCD290; the ability to scale up, formulate and manufacture sufficient GMP, clinical or commercialization quantities of MGCD0103, MGCD265 or MGCD290, and the relative success or the lack of success in developing and gaining regulatory approval and/or market acceptance for any compound or new product including MGCD0103, MGCD265 or MGCD290. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, economic conditions in the pharmaceutical industry, changes in the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which MethylGene does business, stock market volatility, fluctuations in costs, expectations with respect to our intellectual property position and our ability to protect our intellectual property and operate our business without infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others, changes in the competitive landscape including changes in the standard of care for the various indications in which MethylGene is involved, and changes to the competitive environment due to consolidation, as well as other risks, which you are urged to read, as described in MethylGene’s Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2007, under the heading ‘risk factors,’, and all other documents filed by the Company that can be found at www.sedar.com. Consequently, actual future results may differ materially from the anticipated results expressed in the forward-looking statements. The reader should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements included in this presentation. These statements speak only as an update on the date they are made and MethylGene is under no obligation to revise such statements as a result of any event, circumstance or otherwise except in accordance with law.
Contact Information:
Donald F. Corcoran
President & CEO
MethylGene Inc.
Phone: 514-337-3333 ext. 373
mctavishk@methylgene.com
Rhonda Chiger
Rx Communications Group, LLC
Phone: 917-322-2569
rchiger@rxir.com
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