Axys Pharmaceuticals Announces First Quarter 2000 Financial Results
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--April 24, 2000--Axys
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:AXPH) today announced financial results
for the quarter ended March 31, 2000.
Revenues for the quarter were $7.0 million, a decrease from the
$11.8 million in revenues reported for the first quarter of 1999. The
decrease was due to the wind-up of several collaborations in 1999,
which has allowed Axys to focus its internal research & development
resources on its proprietary programs in oncology. Cash and
receivables totaled $53.3 million as of March 31, 2000 and included
proceeds from a $31.5 million private placement completed in February.
First quarter 2000 operating expenses were $15.8 million, a 20%
decrease from 1999 first quarter operating expenses. Sales and general
and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2000 increased
$0.7 million, or 21.5%, from the same period in 1999. The increase was
due to expanded activities within the PPGx subsidiary, whose funding
comes from third party sources, and increased sales and marketing
efforts of the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, AAT. Research and
development expenses decreased $4.6 million, or 29%, for the first
quarter of 2000 from the same period in 1999. The decrease was
primarily due to the shutdown of the Company's San Diego operations
and the conclusion of several collaborations in gene identification.
Axys reported a net loss of $8.5 million, or $0.26 per share, in
the first quarter of 2000. This compares to a net loss of $7.7
million, or $0.26 per share reported in the first quarter of 1999.
Company Highlights
"The first months of 2000 have been marked by considerable
progress throughout our core Drug Discovery and Development programs
and non-core affiliates," said John Walker, chairman and chief
executive officer. Developments include:
-- Merger of Axys Advanced Technologies (AAT) with Discovery Partners
International, Inc. (DPI): Earlier this month, Axys announced the
signing of a definitive agreement to merge AAT, its combinatorial
chemistry business, with DPI, a provider of products, services and
information to augment the internal drug discovery efforts of
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. "This merger
complements AAT with an expanded product and service offering,
critical mass and an established infrastructure, " said John
Walker.
"The AAT/DPI transaction represents a first stage in the
successful monetization of Axys ' combinatorial chemistry
technology and executes on our strategy to leverage Axys
technology assets through the spin-out of non-core businesses,"
said John Walker. Following completion of the merger, Axys will
have a significant minority ownership position in DPI, and will
have the right to elect three of seven DPI board members.
"Further, DPI is in the process of filing for its initial public
stock offering, and, if successfully completed, this will provide
Axys with a stronger balance sheet and a more liquid asset,"
commented Walker. Axys will also retain rights to use AAT's
compound libraries in its drug discovery programs. Axys received
$60 million in DPI stock as consideration for the company's stock
in AAT.
-- PPGx Developments: PPGx, a majority-owned joint venture of Axys
and PPD, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPDI) recently announced an expansion of
its pharmacogenomics platform through an agreement with Aventis
Bio-Services, under which PPGx will have access to one of the
world's largest collections of serum samples. PPGx will initially
use this collection to complete validation studies on proprietary
SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) for use in its clinical
research business. PPGx also announced that it has obtained an
exclusive worldwide license from St. Jude Children's Research
Hospital for a test to identify a mutation in the TPMT gene. This
mutation has been associated with life-threatening reactions to
some common cancer and immunosuppressive drugs. The test will
allow physicians to screen patients for TPMT status and
accordingly protect against adverse events. This test also will be
used in pharmacogenomics-based evaluations of new drug candidates
in clinical development.
-- Cytovia Collaboration in Apoptosis: In March, Axys and Cytovia,
Inc. announced a program to discover and develop anti-cancer
agents that induce apoptosis (programmed cell death). Cytovia has
developed a novel screening system that is able to monitor the
activation of pathways that result in induction of caspase
activity, the common endpoint in apoptosis. "The Cytovia screening
technology, combined with Axys' library of diverse small molecule
organic compounds, is a powerful combination for the discovery of
new anti-cancer drugs," said Michael C. Venuti, Ph.D., Axys senior
vice president of research and preclinical development and chief
technical officer. Axys will have the first right to develop and
commercialize any drug candidates that result from the
collaborative research program.
-- Bayer Tryptase Collaboration: Axys has partnered with Bayer to
develop inhibitors of tryptase, a protease central to the
inflammatory process in conditions such as asthma and inflammatory
bowel disease (IBD). "I am pleased to report that we have
completed patient enrollment in the first stage of the Phase II
clinical trial of our tryptase inhibitor APC 2059 in IBD
patients," said Daniel Hoth, M.D., Axys senior vice president and
chief medical officer.
"We anticipate that initial results from this trial will be
available during this summer." Bayer has the option to assume
clinical development of APC 2059 after Phase II testing, subject
to certain payments to Axys.
Based on discussions with the Company's partner, Bayer, Axys now
believes there may be a delay in the initiation of the human
clinical studies on BAY 44-3428, an oral tryptase inhibitor for
the treatment of asthma. The Company has previously reported on
the statistically significant results of two Phase IIa studies in
allergen induced asthma demonstrating with an inhaled tryptase
inhibitor the positive effect on the late airway response versus
both placebo and baseline.
-- Successful Private Placement: In February, Axys significantly
enhanced its financial position through the completion of a $31.5
million private placement of its common stock. The common shares
issued in connection with this financing have now been registered
for resale in a filing declared effective by the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
-- Management Change: Axys also announces that Kathleen Stafford has
resigned her position as senior vice president and chief financial
officer to return to her consulting practice. She will continue as
a consultant to Axys until a replacement is named.
Axys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an integrated small molecule drug
discovery and development company. Axys has a broad pipeline of
products for chronic therapeutic applications that are partnered with
world-class pharmaceutical companies and a proprietary product
portfolio in oncology. Axys is also building shareholder value through
affiliated businesses that leverage the Axys technologies in order to
provide capital for Axys' drug discovery and development programs. In
addition to the minority interest in DPI resulting from the AAT-DPI
merger, Axys' technology leveraging businesses are: PPGx, a
majority-owned pharmacogenomics company, and Akkadix Corporation, an
agricultural biotechnology company.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this press
release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties which could cause Axys' actual results to differ
materially from those discussed here, including the risks inherent in
early stage development and the reliance on the efforts of
collaborative partners, the risk that this or other Axys
collaborations will not be successful, the risk that clinical trials
will not proceed as anticipated or may not be successful, the risk
that Axys will not be successful in entering into new collaborations,
competition and marketing risk, the risk of unexpected difficulties
and delays in the development of new technologies and in expanding its
manufacturing capabilities, and general economic conditions that may
affect Axys' actual results and developments. Additional factors that
could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not
limited to, those discussed in the sections entitled "What Factors
Could Cause Our Results to Differ Significantly from Those You Might
Expect?" and "What Other Matters Should Stockholders Consider with
Respect to Axys?" in the Axys' SEC Reports, including Axys' report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1999.
For more information on Axys Pharmaceuticals, Inc., please visit
the company's website at axyspharm.com.
Axys Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Three months ended March 31,
----------------------------
(unaudited)
2000 1999
Revenues:
Collaboration and
licensing revenues $ 1,931 $ 8,662
Product and service revenues 5,060 3,142
Total revenues 6,991 11,804
Operating expenses:
Cost of products sold 1,124 548
Research and development 11,301 15,925
General and administrative 3,888 3,201
Restructuring Charge (545) --
Total operating expenses 15,768 19,674
Operating loss (8,777) (7,870)
Interest income/(expense), net (123) 400
Equity interest in
loss of joint venture -- (563)
Minority interest 408 285
Net loss $ (8,492) $ (7,748)
Basic and diluted net
loss per share $ (0.26) $ (0.26)
Shares used in
computing basic
and diluted
net loss per share 32,067 30,321
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data
(in thousands)
March 31, December 31,
2000 1999
(unaudited)
Cash & marketable investments $ 48,484 $ 26,657
Accounts receivable 4,861 4,786
Total assets 78,839 55,734
Accumulated deficit (285,703) (277,211)
Total stockholders' equity 39,827 14,047
CONTACT:
Axys Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
John Walker, 650/829-1000 |
