RIGL update: 3rd Q, and comments at UBS Warburg about their pipe:
>>SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov 7, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL chart, msgs) today reported financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2001.
Revenues for the third quarter of 2001 increased to $4.2 million up from $3.2 million in the third quarter of 2000. The increase in revenues for the third quarter primarily reflects Rigel's expanded Novartis Collaboration with the addition of the angiogenisis program in July 2001.
Operating expenses for the third quarter of 2001 were $10.6 million, as compared to $10.5 million for the third quarter of 2000, primarily reflecting increased investment in research and development. For the third quarter of 2001, Rigel reported a net loss of $6.2 million, or $0.17 per share, compared to a net loss of $7.3 million, or $0.25 per share pro forma, in the third quarter of 2000.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2001, revenues from research collaborations increased to $10.5 million, up from $10.0 million for the comparable period in 2000. Operating expenses for the first nine months of 2001 decreased to $29.3 million from $29.6 million during the comparable period in 2000. The Company's net loss in the nine months ended September 30, 2001 was $17.7 million, or $0.48 per share, compared with a net loss of $19.6 million, or $0.68 per share pro forma, for the nine months ended September 30, 2000.
At September 30, 2001, Rigel held cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $37.3 million as compared to approximately $53.0 million at December 31, 2000.
"Rigel continues to make great strides on all fronts as we advance from a pure discovery company to a development stage company. For example, we believe our progress should enable us to file several IND's over the next couple of years, with the first one expected in the summer of 2002," said James M. Gower, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition, we are particularly excited about the work we are doing in establishing an exciting new class of small molecule oncology targets -- ubiquitin ligase inhibitors -- and you will continue to hear more from us in this area."
Ubiquitin ligases are enzymes involved in many important cellular functions, including cell division and the progression of certain cancers. These enzymes represent a promising new class of anti-cancer targets for which Rigel is developing inhibitors to work selectively against these targets at the molecular level.
Rigel Pharmaceuticals (www.rigel.com) is a drug discovery and development company that uses advanced functional genomic tools to discover novel drug targets. Rigel's technology is designed to identify molecules that play an important role in regulating a human cell's response to disease by testing a very large number of proteins in a very large number of cells to determine which proteins will change the cell's response to the disease. Rigel currently has programs in asthma/allergy, autoimmunity, transplant rejection, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic bronchitis, cancerous tumor growth and hepatitis C. In addition to its proprietary programs, Rigel has research and product development collaborations with Pfizer Inc., Cell Genesys, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. and Novartis Pharma A.G. Rigel is based in South San Francisco, California.
Statements included in this press release that are not historical in nature are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include those relating to the future direction and success of Rigel's current research activities. Rigel cautions readers that forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements due to the risks and factors identified in Rigel's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000 and other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. The information in this press release is current as of its release date. Rigel does not intend to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.
RIGEL PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
2001 2000 2001 2000
(Unaudited) (Unaudited)
Revenues:
Contract revenues
from collaborations $4,206 $3,211 $10,524 $10,008
Operating expenses:
Research and development 8,782 6,462 22,196 17,015
General and administrative 1,906 1,615 5,461 4,253
Non-cash stock compensation (66) 2,390 1,623 8,351
Total
operating expenses 10,622 10,467 29,280 29,619
Loss from operations (6,416) (7,256) (18,756) (19,611)
Interest income (expense), net 197 (14) 1,062 18
Net loss $(6,219) $(7,270) $(17,694) $(19,593)
Non-cash deemed dividend to
Series E preferred stockholders -- (100) -- (10,133)
Net loss allocable
to common stockholders $(6,219) $(7,370) $(17,694) $(29,726)
Net loss per common share,
basic and diluted $(0.17) $(1.62) $(0.48) $(6.92)
Weighted average shares
used in computing net loss
per common share,
basic and diluted 37,516 4,561 37,173 4,297
Unaudited pro forma information:
Adjusted net loss per share,
basic and diluted (A) $(0.17) $(0.25) $(0.48) $(0.68)
Pro forma weighted average
common and preferred shares
outstanding used in computing
adjusted net loss per
share, basic and diluted (B) 37,516 29,295 37,173 28,709
SUMMARY BALANCE SHEET DATA
(in thousands)
September 30, December 31,
2001 2000(C)
(Unaudited)
Cash, cash equivalents
and available for sale securities $37,331 $52,994
Total assets 52,875 64,262
Stockholders equity 34,309 49,010
(A) Based on net loss before deemed dividend to Series E preferred
stockholders.
(B) Pro forma weighted average shares used in computing adjusted net loss
per share, includes shares issuable upon the conversion of outstanding
shares of convertible preferred stock from the original date of
issuance and excludes the deemed dividend to Series E preferred
stockholders.
(C) Derived from audited financial statements.<<
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>>NEW YORK, Oct 11, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL chart, msgs) discussed pre-clinical data and strategy for its lead product candidates in asthma and oncology at the UBS Warburg Global Life Sciences Conference in New York.
The data was presented by Rigel's Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Brian C. Cunningham, as part of a presentation updating the company's operational progress. Rigel's Mast Cell Asthma program seeks to block three mast cell activation pathways: degranulation, leukotriene release and cytokine production. To date, the lead compound has succeeded in key in vivo animal models used to test efficacy for asthma compounds.
In the oncology area, Rigel reviewed pre-clinical data from studies involving the company's small molecule ubiquitin ligase inhibitors which reduce tumor volume in animal studies of colon and non-small cell lung cancers. Ubiquitin ligases are enzymes involved in many important cellular functions, including cell division and the progression of certain cancers. These enzymes represent a promising new class of anti-cancer targets, and Rigel is developing inhibitors to work selectively against these targets at the molecular level.
"We are very proud of this pre-clinical data as we believe it is a successful demonstration of how Rigel is integrating its target discovery and validation technology with its expanding chemistry and pre-clinical platforms with these very important new classes of targets," said Mr. Cunningham. "Based on this data as well as other studies, we plan to select a clinical candidate next year."
Ubiquitin Ligases and Rigel
Ubiquitin ligases are a very large family of enzymes found in all mammalian cells that can selectively tag proteins for destruction. While ubiquitin ligases have been implicated in many diseases, their role in cancer and inflammation is currently the best understood. In some types of cancer, for example, ubiquitin ligases tag for destruction "healthy proteins" that help direct a cell to grow and divide normally. Without these healthy, regulating proteins in place, abnormal cell division and proliferation can occur, causing the cell to become cancerous. The goal of Rigel's oncology-focused program is to inhibit the ability of ubiquitin ligases to tag these "normal" proteins for destruction.
Rigel has significant expertise in the area of ubiquitin ligases, with programs underway in the areas of cancer and inflammation, and is a leader in the development of small molecule (orally-available) inhibitors of these enzymes. The company has built a strong infrastructure in this area and has over 30 people working in the areas of biology, proteomics, high-throughput screening, bioinformatics and chemistry, and has generated many promising initial chemical hits. In addition, an experienced preclinical oncology development team is in place to optimize these leads and take them into the clinic.
Moreover, the company has assembled a strong intellectual property position in this area to protect its many novel discoveries and is collaborating with companies that can help accelerate the progress of the ubiquitin ligase program. In fact, in the last month alone, Rigel announced two new collaborations for its oncology ubiquitin ligase program: one with MediChem Life Sciences of Chicago to express, purify and co-crystallize important protein complexes, and another with Evotec OAI of Hamburg, Germany, for medicinal chemistry services to optimize Rigel's small molecule ubiquitin ligase compounds so that they contain desirable pharmaceutical properties.<<
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Cheers, Tuck |
