RICHMOND, Calif., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO - news) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2001. The consolidated core net loss, which excludes non-cash charges, was $1.9 million, or $0.08 per share. In the comparable quarter of 2000, Sangamo reported a consolidated core net loss of $1.2 million or $0.05 per share. Including the non-cash charges, the net loss in the fourth quarter of 2001 was $3.4 million, or $0.14 per share, as compared to a net loss of $2.8 million, or $0.13 per share, in the same period in 2000.
Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2001 were $2.2 million as compared to fourth quarter 2000 revenues of $1.1 million. The principal components of fourth quarter 2001 revenues were revenues from the ZFP-Therapeutics collaboration with Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, Universal GeneTools(TM) revenues and revenues from Sangamo's partnerships in the areas of human therapeutics and plant agriculture.
Excluding the non-cash charges, total fourth quarter 2001 expenses were $4.7 million as compared to $3.3 million in the prior year period. The increase in expenses was primarily due to greater research and development activity, including expenses associated with Gendaq Ltd., which was acquired by Sangamo in July 2001. Research and development expenses were $3.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2001 as compared to $2.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2000. General and administrative expenses were $1.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2001 as compared to $861,000 for the same period in 2000.
Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2001 was $608,000 as compared to $1.1 million in the comparable period of 2000. At December 31, 2001, the company had cash, cash equivalents, and investments of $62.6 million, compared with $64.7 million at December 31, 2000.
Recent Highlights
-- First therapeutics milestone: Sangamo received a $1.4 million
milestone payment from partner Edwards Lifesciences upon the delivery
of a lead zinc finger protein transcription factor (ZFP TF) therapeutic
product candidate that activates the vascular endothelial growth factor
(VEGF) gene. Sangamo's collaboration with Edwards is focused on the
development of new treatments for coronary artery disease and
peripheral vascular disease.
-- Antibody production agreement: Medarex, Inc. and Sangamo entered into
a collaboration to use Sangamo's ZFP technology to increase the
expression of antibodies in cell lines. Medarex will provide research
funding to Sangamo over a two year period and Medarex will have a
non-exclusive license to use the ZFP-modified cell lines to manufacture
antibody products. Sangamo will be entitled to milestone payments and
royalties on product sales.
-- GeneTools(TM) agreement: Sangamo signed an agreement with Wyeth-Ayerst
Laboratories, the pharmaceutical division of American Home Products
Corporation, to provide ZFP TFs to Wyeth for use in its internal
research programs.
-- Patent issuance: Sangamo was granted a new patent in the United
Kingdom that covers methods for identifying target DNA sequences,
within any gene, that will serve as preferred binding sites for ZFPs
and methods for designing ZFP TFs that bind tightly and specifically to
those sites. Related applications with similar claims are pending
worldwide.
-- Scientific publication: In collaboration with scientists from Pfizer
Inc, Sangamo published results using ZFP TFs to repress the expression
of a gene variant required for fat cell development. The paper,
published in Genes & Development, received significant media coverage,
including reports in The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, Reuters
Health, New York Newsday, the BBC News and the Times of London, as well
as several trade publications.
Twelve Month Results
For the year ended December 31, 2001 the net loss attributable to common stockholders was $25.2 million, or $1.09 per share. Included in the year's net loss were non-cash charges totaling $17.0 million; excluding these charges, the core operating loss was $8.3 million, or $0.36 per share. Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2001 were $4.9 million as compared to $3.4 million in 2000. Excluding non-cash charges and a deemed dividend upon issuance of convertible preferred stock, total expenses for the years ended December 31, 2001 and 2000 were $16.4 million and $10.0 million, respectively.
At December 31, 2001, the company had cash, cash equivalents, and investments of $62.6 million as compared to $64.7 million at December 31, 2000. Total shares outstanding at December 31, 2001 were 24.5 million as compared to 22.1 million at December 31, 2000. The company issued 2.2 million shares for the purchase of Gendaq.
Conference Call
Sangamo will host a conference call today at 2:00 p.m. PST, which will be open to the public. During the conference call, the company will review these results, discuss other business matters, and provide forward-looking guidance with respect to 2002.
The conference call dial-in numbers are 800-730-7991 for domestic callers and 706-634-7552 for international callers. For those unable to listen in at the designated time, a conference call replay will be available for one week following the conference call, from approximately 5:00 p.m. PST on February 5, 2002 to 5:00 p.m. PST on February 12, 2002. The conference call replay numbers for domestic and international callers are 800-642-1687 and 706-645-9291 respectively. The conference ID number for the replay is 3038912. |
