- Total Revenues Rose Over 300% and Net Loss Declined 46% Quarter-Over-Quarter, with Avid Revenues Reaching a Record $5.8 Million -
- Two Additional Bavituximab Phase II Cancer Trials Met Pre-Specified Endpoints for Expansion -
- All Three Bavituximab Phase II Cancer Trials Have Now Successfully Achieved Their Initial Efficacy Milestones -
TUSTIN, Calif., March 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peregrine
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPHM) today announced financial results for the
third quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2009 ended January 31, 2009.
Total revenues for the current quarter increased 308% to $6,826,000,
compared to $1,675,000 for the comparable quarter in FY 2008. The increase in
total revenues primarily stems from increased contract manufacturing revenues
provided by Avid Bioservices, Peregrine's wholly owned biomanufacturing
subsidiary. Contract manufacturing revenues generated by Avid were $5,778,000
for the third quarter of FY 2009 compared to $1,662,000 for the comparable
prior year quarter. The increase in Avid revenues reflects increased
production of biological products for third-party customers during the
quarter, as well as the timing of certain product shipments. In addition to
Avid's contract manufacturing revenues, Peregrine also generated contract
revenues during the quarter for services provided under its contract with the
U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to evaluate bavituximab for the
treatment of viral hemorrhagic fever infections. For the nine months ended
January 31, 2009, total revenues increased to $10,284,000, up 98% from the
first nine months of FY 2008.
Total costs and expenses increased 25% to $10,060,000 in the third quarter
of FY 2009 from $8,077,000 in the same prior year quarter. The increase
primarily reflects an increase in the cost of contract manufacturing
associated with the 248% increase in third-party contract manufacturing
revenues recorded by Avid during the current quarter. During the third
quarter of FY 2009, R&D expenses declined as a result of planned reductions in
R&D costs associated with Peregrine's preclinical programs. R&D expenses were
$4,465,000 in the third quarter of FY 2009, compared to $4,941,000 in the
third quarter of FY 2008. SG&A expenses declined 19% quarter-over-quarter,
from $1,847,000 in the third quarter of FY 2008 to $1,489,000 in the third
quarter of FY 2009. This decrease is the result of reductions in SG&A
expenses across the board, reflecting the company's focus on stringent
management of all discretionary expense categories. For the nine months,
total costs and expenses were virtually unchanged, rising slightly from
$23,035,000 in the period ended January 31, 2008 to $23,228,000 in the
comparable period in 2009.
'Peregrine has achieved significant financial successes since the start of
the third fiscal quarter,' said Paul Lytle, chief financial officer of
Peregrine. 'Last year we began implementing a strategy to conserve cash by
controlling costs and growing revenues through our government DTRA contract
and through contract manufacturing services provided to outside clients, while
also continuing to advance our clinical trial programs. This strategy is
clearly producing results, as demonstrated by the three-fold increase in our
third quarter revenues, reflecting the growing volume of biomanufacturing
business at our Avid subsidiary and work performed under our contract with the
DTRA. At the same time, we continued to achieve significant reductions in
non-essential R&D costs and SG&A expenses, reducing our net loss in the
quarter by almost half compared to last year. We believe these successes in
effectively deploying our capital resources while achieving important
operational milestones are helping to provide a sound foundation for our
progress going forward.'
Peregrine reported a consolidated net loss of $3,332,000, or $0.01 per
basic and diluted share, compared to a consolidated net loss of $6,154,000, or
$0.03 per basic and diluted share for the same prior year period, a decrease
of 46%. The consolidated net loss for the nine months declined 24%, from
$17,017,000 in the period ended January 31, 2008 to $12,915,000 in the
comparable period in 2009. The declines in net loss are the result of
increases in the company's total revenues combined with decreased costs in
many areas of Peregrine's business.
At January 31, 2009, the company had $10.9 million in cash and cash
equivalents.
'Over the past few months we achieved a number of noteworthy advancements
in our development efforts, including promising data from our ongoing Phase II
bavituximab clinical studies and a high profile publication for our
bavituximab anti-viral program,' said Steven W. King, president and CEO of
Peregrine. 'Last year we initiated three separate Phase II clinical trials
designed to evaluate bavituximab in combination with standard cancer
therapies. These trials have a two-stage design that requires achievement of
pre-specified efficacy endpoints to expand enrollment beyond the pilot stage.
With our recent announcement that our Phase ll trials in breast cancer and
non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had achieved these criteria, all three of
our bavituximab Phase ll cancer trials have now decisively met their
respective pre-established endpoints for expanding enrollment.'
Mr. King added, 'In addition to advancing our clinical programs, during
the third quarter we also received significant validation for our anti-PS
anti-viral technology platform through the publication in the highly regarded
journal Nature Medicine of impressive preclinical data evaluating bavituximab
and related anti-PS antibodies for the treatment of lethal virus infections.
The recent clinical results from our bavituximab cancer program and the Nature
Medicine article were widely reported in both industry periodicals and in the
mainstream media, raising awareness for our bavituximab program and
heightening interest from potential development partners.
