Rigel's burn rate to increase due to upcoming clinical development; explains the financing . . .
>>SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL - news) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2001.
The Company reported revenues from collaborations of $4.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2001 compared to $3.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2000.
Operating expenses were $11.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2001 compared to $9.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2000. Net loss was $6.1 million, or $0.16 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2001 compared to net loss of $5.8 million, or $0.18 per pro forma share, in the same period last year.
For the year ended December 31, 2001, Rigel reported revenues from research collaborations of $15.3 million compared to $13.2 million in 2000. Total operating expenses were $40.3 million in 2001 compared to $38.7 million in 2000. For the year ended December 31, 2001, the Company reported a net loss of $23.8 million, or $0.64 per share, compared to net loss of $25.4 million, or $0.86 per pro forma share, in 2000.
As of December 31, 2001, Rigel had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $33.4 million compared to $53.0 million at December 31, 2000.
Rigel recently announced in January 2002 the completion of a public offering that raised net proceeds of $29.4 million bringing the Company's cash reserves to over $60 million. The Company intends to use the proceeds for research and development and general corporate purposes.
``In 2001, we achieved numerous milestones and advanced our collaborations with each of our pharmaceutical partners, which we believe demonstrates the value of Rigel's unique technology platform and approach,'' said James M. Gower, Chairman and CEO of Rigel. ``We also moved our proprietary research programs forward and anticipate filing our first IND with a compound from our mast cell program this summer. We expect this IND to be the first of several compounds to enter the clinic over the next couple of years.''
The Company estimates revenues of $18 - $22 million in 2002 resulting from existing collaborations and the anticipated commencement of new research and development collaborations. 2002 operating expenses are anticipated to increase to approximately $50 - $55 million due primarily to the increased research and development costs associated with the advancement of the Company's proprietary programs and the intended commencement of clinical trials in 2002.
Rigel Pharmaceuticals (http://www.rigel.com) is a drug discovery and development company that uses advanced functional genomics tools to discover novel drug targets that can be used to develop orally administered small molecule drugs. 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 expects to begin clinical trials during 2002 with one or more new drug candidates identified from the current 10 product development programs in the areas of asthma/allergy, autoimmunity, transplant rejection, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic bronchitis, cancerous tumor growth and hepatitis C. Rigel has collaborations with Pfizer Inc., Cell Genesys, Inc., Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. and Novartis Pharma A.G. Rigel is based in South San Francisco, California.
This press release contains ``forward-looking'' statements, including statements related to the Company's plans to commence clinical trials in 2002, the Company's anticipated 2002 revenues and operating expenses and the Company's intent to enter into additional research collaborations. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as ``believes,'' ``anticipates,'' ``plans,'' ``expects,'' ``will'' and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of the Company to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including the risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000, as amended, and its most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.
RIGEL PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended Year ended
December 31, December 31,
2001 2000 2001 2000
(Unaudited) (Unaudited)
Revenues:
Contract revenues from
collaborations $4,780 $3,211 $15,303 $13,218
Operating expenses:
Research and development 8,521 5,835 30,717 22,850
General and administrative 1,963 1,459 7,424 5,713
Non-cash stock compensation 499 1,810 2,122 10,160
Total operating expenses 10,983 9,104 40,263 38,723
Loss from operations (6,203) (5,893) (24,960) (25,505)
Interest income (expense), net 92 127 1,155 145
Net loss $(6,111) $(5,766) $(23,805) $(25,360)
Non-cash deemed dividend to Series E
preferred
stockholders -- -- -- (10,133)
Net loss allocable to common
stockholders $(6,111) $(5,766) $(23,805) $(35,493)
Net loss per common share, basic and
diluted $(0.16) $(0.36) $(0.64) $(4.89)
Weighted average shares used in
computing
net loss per common share, basic
and diluted 37,628 16,065 37,287 7,263
Unaudited pro forma information:
Adjusted net loss per share, basic
and diluted(1) $(0.16) $(0.18) $(0.64) $(0.86)
Pro forma weighted average common
and preferred
shares outstanding used in
computing adjusted
net loss per share, basic and
diluted(2) 37,628 31,992 37,287 29,543
SUMMARY BALANCE SHEET DATA
(in thousands)
December 31, December 31,
2001 2000(3)
Cash, cash equivalents and
available for sale securities $33,415 $52,994
Total assets 46,448 64,262
Stockholders equity 28,941 49,010
(1) Based on net loss before deemed dividend to Series E preferred
stockholders.
(2) 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.
(3) Derived from audited financial statements.<<
Cheers, Tuck |
