Neurogen Corporation Announces Fiscal Year 2001 Results
BRANFORD, Conn., March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Neurogen Corporation (Nasdaq: NRGN - news), a leading small molecule drug discovery and development company, today announced operating results for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2001.
Neurogen recognized a net loss for fiscal 2001 of $25.4 million, or a loss of $1.45 per share. These results were consistent with the Company's expectations and compare to a net loss of $15.5 million, or a loss of $0.94 per share, for fiscal 2000. Fiscal 2000 earnings data included a $0.5 million, or $0.03 per share, charge for the cumulative effect of change in accounting principle due to the Company's adoption of The Securities and Exchange Commission's Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101 (SAB 101), ``Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements.''
Neurogen's total cash and marketable securities as of December 31, 2001 totaled $106.8 million.
Operating revenue for fiscal year 2001 decreased 44% to $11.5 million from $20.4 million for fiscal 2000. The anticipated decrease was due to the scheduled reduction of drug discovery research funding from the Company's collaboration with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE - news).
For fiscal 2001, research and development expenses, excluding non-cash compensation charges, increased 23% to $34.5 million from $28.0 million for fiscal 2000. The increase was planned as the result of further development of potential drug candidates, including Neurogen's NGD 2000-1, its lead candidate for the treatment of inflammatory disorders targeting the C5a receptor and its CRF-1 program. Neurogen owns all commercial rights to the NGD 2000-1 compound and it is currently in Phase I clinical trials. The Company has also continued drug discovery efforts through the application of its Accelerated Intelligent Drug Discovery (AIDD(TM)) technology platform.
General and administrative expenses, excluding non-cash compensation charges for fiscal 2001, increased 15% to $6.6 million from $5.7 million for fiscal 2000. The increase was due to additional administrative and technical services and personnel to support the protection of Neurogen's growing intellectual property estate (issued U.S. patents more than doubled in 2001) and to support Neurogen's expanding research pipeline.
``I am very pleased to have joined Neurogen this year,'' commented William H. Koster, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neurogen, ``I look forward to executing our new vision for the company that includes advancing later-stage compounds through the clinic while developing a risk-balanced early-stage pipeline of exciting new therapeutics. In particular, we are looking forward to advancing NGD 97-1, our Alzheimer's candidate currently in Phase II trials, as well as our groundbreaking, orally bioavailable C5a receptor candidate currently in Phase I trials. These programs, together with our recently announced collaboration with Aventis Pharma to advance Neurogen's program to develop CRF-1 based drugs, further our strategy of creating a broad development pipeline while retaining substantial downstream benefits,'' continued Dr. Koster.
Dr. Koster and Mr. Stephen R. Davis, Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, will host a conference call and webcast to discuss fiscal year 2001 results at 10:00 a.m. EST on March 5, 2002. The webcast will be available in the Investor Relations section of www.neurogen.com at that time and will be archived on the website, as well. A replay of the call will be available after 1:00 p.m. EST March 5, 2002 and accessible through the close of business, March 15, 2002. To replay the conference call, dial 800-945-1517 or for international callers, 402-220-0676. No pass code is required.
About Neurogen Corp.
Neurogen Corporation (Nasdaq: NRGN - news) is a leading small molecule drug discovery and development company targeting new drug candidates to improve the lives of patients suffering from neurological, inflammatory, and metabolic disorders. Neurogen has generated a portfolio of compelling new drug programs through its fully integrated drug discovery platform, successfully solving complex issues in the discovery of small molecule drugs for valuable targets. Neurogen's strategy is to advance a mix of proprietary drugs independently and, when advantageous, collaborate with world-class pharmaceutical companies during the drug development process to obtain additional resources and to access complementary expertise. Neurogen's Accelerated Intelligent Drug Discovery (AIDD) process and its expertise in cellular functional assays are key discriminators in the Company's ability to rapidly and cost effectively identify active compounds during the drug discovery process.
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