CIPH @ $4.70 would have been possible yesterday.
MCLS lowered expectations -
CHICAGO, July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- MediChem Life Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: MCLS - news), a Chicago-based drug discovery technology and services company, announced today that it expects to report contract revenue for the second quarter ended June 30, 2001 in the range of $4.6 to $4.8 million. The Company expects to report an EBITDA loss of between $2.8 and $3.0 million and expects to have a cash balance at the end of the quarter in the range of $10.6 to $10.8 million.
These preliminary financial estimates are subject to final accounting and review processes and, therefore, could change. The Company will provide further information in its announcement of actual second quarter results and the accompanying conference call, currently scheduled for Thursday, August 9, 2001.
``The weakness in new contracts reflects postponed outsourcing decisions by our pharmaceutical and biotechnology company customers. Uncertain economic conditions and consolidation within the pharmaceutical industry have contributed to these delays,'' said Michael T. Flavin, Ph.D., president and CEO of MediChem.
``While our financial results for the second quarter are lower than expected, we remain confident about the future growth of the Company,'' Flavin continued. ``We made significant investments in our structural proteomics division during the second quarter as an investment in the future of MediChem. By making these expenditures now, we are better positioned to win larger, more profitable platform collaborations.''
The Company noted that its focus on positioning itself to win larger platform collaborations is yielding results. Examples of this are its Elitra Pharmaceuticals, Inc. strategic medicinal chemistry agreement, announced on June 7, 2001, and its Neurocrine Biosciences G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) structural proteomics collaboration announced June 26, 2001.
``The Elitra and Neurocrine agreements validate our strategy of leveraging MediChem's core medicinal chemistry capabilities and its structural proteomics and GPCR-related technologies to cement strategic relationships with clients,'' Flavin said. ``These two agreements are representative of the Company's ability to negotiate agreements that include not only fee-for-service payments, but also technology access fees and milestone royalty opportunities.''... |
