Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2002 Financial Results, Suspension of Clinical Trials, Staff Reductions and Future Plans
Thursday November 7, 6:03 pm ET
BOTHELL, Wash., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: NWBT - News) today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2002.
The net loss for the three-month period ended Sept. 30, 2002, was $3.5 million, or $0.21 per share. This result compared to a net loss of $2.7 million, or $1.37 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2001.
The increase in net loss was primarily due to increased costs associated with directors and officers liability insurance, costs attributable to being a public company, which occurred in December 2001, increased costs associated with site initiation expenditures related to clinical trials, and research and development expenditures relating to its antibody development program.
The weighted average number of shares used in computing the per share net loss was approximately 16.9 million at Sept. 30, 2002 compared to 1.9 million at Sept. 30, 2001.
As of Sept. 30, 2002, Northwest Biotherapeutics had approximately $4.0 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. As of the date of this release, the Company has approximately $2.9 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, which includes a $500,000 nonrefundable payment received after September 30, 2002 pursuant to the conditional agreement described below. The Company intends to manage its operating cash requirements so that its current cash balance will be sufficient to fund its operations through December 31, 2002.
In its ongoing efforts to reduce cash expenditures, the Company has suspended all clinical trial activity for its DCVax product candidates. It has withdrawn its Investigative New Drug Applications (IND) for its DCVax- Prostate, a prostate cancer treatment and for its DCVax-Lung, a potential treatment for non-small cell lung cancer. Although it is maintaining its FDA clearance to initiate a multi-site Phase II clinical trial to evaluate DCVax- Brain as a possible treatment for Glioblastoma Multiforme, without additional funding the Company will not have sufficient resources to initiate this trial.
The Company, on October 24, 2002, signed a conditional agreement to sell to a third party certain rights, title, and interest in several antigen targets pertaining to its monoclonal antibody program. The other party to this agreement has an absolute right to cancel this agreement under certain circumstances. If the agreement is consummated, payments made by the third party under the agreement may enable the Company to remain operational as a pre-clinical antibody and dendritic cell development Company comprised of approximately 14 employees. If the agreement is not consummated, the Company has determined that it will likely cease business operations by December 31, 2002, and sell all tangible and intangible assets. The carrying value of such assets may not be recoverable. In this event, the Company would have a trustee appointed to finalize the Company's remaining business affairs and the Company believes that it has sufficient assets to satisfy its remaining liabilities. If consummated, this agreement also would obligate us to repurchase rights to several antigen targets from the third party in exchange for newly-issued shares of our common stock and warrants, which could be dilutive to our current shareholders.
The Company, in its restructuring activities, eliminated the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer in October 2002, and eliminated the position of Vice President and Chief Medical Officer in November 2002. The Company's Controller now acts as its principal financial and accounting officer. It also terminated 10 staff in October 2002 and has scheduled the termination of another 20 employees by December 31, 2002, irrespective of whether the agreement referred to above is consummated. These staff reductions leave intact the core personnel needed to maintain the Company with a revised focus on pre-clinical antibody and dendritic cell development.
About Northwest Biotherapeutics:
Northwest Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing immunotherapy products that safely generate and enhance immune system responses to effectively treat cancer. The Company has combined its expertise in dendritic cell biology, immunology and antigen discovery with its proprietary technologies to develop cancer therapies.
The Company, if successful in restructuring as a pre-clinical antibody and dendritic cell development company, will shift its research focus to further develop diagnostic and therapeutic antibodies against its proprietary cancer targets for potential use in new cancer products. It will also continue refinement of its next generation system for cost effectively producing high purity dendritic cells and dendritic cell precursors as a platform for a new generation of cancer and infectious disease products. |
