Neurogen Corporation Announces First Quarter 2002 Financial Results
Neurogen Corporation
First Quarter 2002 Financial Results Webcast
May 9, 2002 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern
Contact: Elaine Beckwith, 203-315-4615, elaine_beckwith@nrgn.com
BRANFORD, Conn., May 9, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Neurogen Corporation (Nasdaq: NRGN), a leading small molecule drug discovery and development company, today announced financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2002.
The Company recognized a net loss for the first quarter of 2002 of $8.5 million, or $0.49 per share, as compared to a net loss of $7.9 million, or $0.46 per share, for the first three months of fiscal 2001. Neurogen's total cash and marketable securities as of March 31, 2002 totaled $96.2 million.
Operating revenue for the first quarter of 2002 increased 34 percent to $2.6 million, compared to $2.0 million for the first quarter of 2001. The increase is due to revenue recognized from the Company's worldwide collaboration with Aventis Pharma (NYSE: AVE), initiated in December 2001, to develop new drugs based on Neurogen's innovative portfolio of pre-clinical corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF1) antagonist compounds to treat depression, anxiety, and other stress-related disorders.
Excluding a one-time, non-cash compensation charge of $0.8 million in the first quarter of 2001, research and development expenses for the current period increased 7 percent to $9.4 million from $8.8 million in the first quarter of 2001. This increase reflects the further growth of Neurogen's research and development efforts, offset in part by the irregular timing of development expenditures relating to the advancement of the Company's drug candidates. The Company is currently conducting the Phase I clinical trials for NGD 2000-1, its proprietary candidate for the treatment of inflammatory disorders targeting the C5a receptor.
General and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2002 were up 21 percent to $2.2 million, compared to $1.8 million for the same period in 2001. The increase is a result of additional business operations and technical services required to facilitate Neurogen's expanding drug portfolio, development activity, and intellectual property estate.
"We continued to make clinical development progress during the first quarter of 2002, in particular with the initiation of Phase I clinical studies by our partner Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) for our insomnia drug, NGD 96-3," commented William H. Koster, Ph.D, President and Chief Executive Officer of Neurogen. "This novel compound resulted from Neurogen's collaboration with Pfizer to develop drugs which modulate, in a unique way, GABA receptors in the brain."
Dr. Koster continued, "Progress continues on all fronts in our product portfolio. Our candidate NGD 97-1 for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, also a product of our Pfizer collaboration, is currently in Phase IIa clinical trials, while our own Phase I study of NGD 2000-1 for treatment of inflammatory conditions continues to move forward. The lead compound in our collaboration with Aventis, NGD 98-2, is progressing through pre-clinical development and the collaboration is going very well."
Dr. Koster and Stephen R. Davis, Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, will host a conference call and webcast to discuss first quarter 2002 results at 10:00 am Eastern Time on May 9, 2002. The webcast will be available in the Investor Relations section of Neurogen's website at neurogen.com and will be archived on the website for two weeks following. A replay of the call will be available after 1:00 pm Eastern Time on May 9, 2002 and accessible through the close of business, May 23, 2002. To replay the conference call, dial 800-283-4642, or 402-220-0857 for international callers. No pass code is required.
About Neurogen Corp.
Neurogen Corporation (Nasdaq: NRGN) 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(TM)) 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. |
