Abgenix Announces 2003 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results
Businesswire, Tuesday, February 24, 2004 at 16:04
FREMONT, Calif., Feb 24, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Abgenix, Inc. (Nasdaq:ABGX) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2003.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2003, the company reported a net loss of $53.0 million or $0.60 per share, compared to a net loss of $38.9 million or $0.44 per share for the same period in 2002. Fourth quarter 2003 expenses included $9.3 million in costs related to starting up the company's antibody production facilities. The net loss for the fourth quarter of 2003 and 2002 included a $7.9 million and $2.2 million charge, respectively, associated with investments made in connection with collaborations.
Contract revenues for the fourth quarter of 2003 were $6.4 million compared to $3.2 million for the same quarter in 2002. Contract revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2003 primarily included product collaboration revenues, as well as manufacturing service revenues and technology licensing fees.
For the year ended December 31, 2003, the company reported a net loss of $196.4 million compared to a net loss of $208.9 million for 2002. The net loss for 2003 included $72.5 million in manufacturing start-up costs. The manufacturing start-up costs included a charge of $28.0 million associated with the cancellation of an agreement with Lonza Biologics. The net loss for 2003 and 2002 included impairment charges, of $7.9 million and $74.4 million, respectively, associated with investments made in connection with collaborations.
Contract revenues for 2003 were $16.9 million compared to $19.3 million in 2002.
Net cash used in operating activities in the fourth quarter of 2003 was $17.2 million. For the year ended December 31, 2003, net cash used in operating activities was $118.2 million. For the fourth quarter of 2003, capital spending totaled $2.8 million. For the year ended December 31, 2003, total capital spending was $30.5 million.
Abgenix ended the year with $347.8 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. In addition, Abgenix holds long-term investments, primarily equity in corporate collaborators, valued at $20.7 million."In 2003, we continued our transition to becoming a fully integrated product company, while managing our cash resources to meet our goals for the year,"said Ray Withy, PhD., president and chief executive officer of Abgenix."We have also made significant strides to diversify our pipeline and put in place strategic product development alliances as we prepare to advance our portfolio in 2004."Withy continued,"As we invest with Amgen in the ABX-EGF ongoing pivotal trials and development program, and we advance our clinical portfolio outside of oncology, we expect to see an increase in our research and development expenses during 2004. At the same time, we expect that the net cash used in operating activities will be in the range of $110-$125 million, and that our capital spending will be approximately $20-25 million. We intend to continue to make substantial investments in clinical and preclinical studies, and to increase the scope of our manufacturing activities to support our product portfolio, including the ABX-EGF development program."Fourth quarter 2003 and recent company highlights include:
-- Amendment of the ABX-EGF codevelopment agreement with Amgen to
clarify that Amgen will lead clinical development and
commercialization of ABX-EGF, while Abgenix is responsible for
clinical and commercial manufacturing. Under the amended
agreement, Abgenix has the right to access up to $60 million
in advances to fund its share of development and
commercialization costs for ABX-EGF after Abgenix has
contributed $20 million toward development costs in 2004;
-- Completion of a $100 million investment by AstraZeneca in
Abgenix securities, following the companies' announcement of a
broad alliance to discover, develop and commercialize fully
human monoclonal antibodies to treat cancer;
-- Receipt of a Drug Manufacturers License from the State of
California, Food&Drug Branch (FDB). This license allows
Abgenix to manufacture and ship clinical material from its
state-of-the-art, 100,000-square foot biologics manufacturing
facility in Fremont;
-- Launch of a pivotal trial for ABX-EGF as a third-line
monotherapy in advanced colorectal cancer patients following
receipt of a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) by the US Food
and Drug Administration. A second pivotal study in colorectal
cancer patients was also launched outside the US as part of a
global development program;
-- Initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of ABX-PTH, a fully
human monoclonal antibody generated by Abgenix's technology
platform that targets and neutralizes the action of
parathyroid hormone (PTH). ABX-PTH is being developed for
treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT), a chronic
disorder that is frequently observed in patients with chronic
kidney disease;
-- Announcement of a milestone payment from Pfizer following its
recent Investigational New Drug (IND) application filing with
the FDA to advance a third XenoMouse(R)-derived antibody into
the clinic.
Conference call information
Abgenix will hold a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET, 1:30 p.m. PT to discuss financial results. To participate in the teleconference, please dial 800-901-5231 fifteen minutes before the conference begins. International callers should dial 617-786-2961. The pass code is 66470202. The call will also be webcast live at www.abgenix.com. A replay of the call will be available until March 9, 2004 on the company's website or by dialing 888-286-8010. The replay participant code is 92816174.
About Abgenix
Abgenix is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and manufacturing of human therapeutic antibodies. The company's antibody development platform includes a leading technology and state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities that enable the rapid generation, selection and production of high affinity, fully human antibody product candidates to a variety of disease targets. Abgenix leverages its leadership position in human antibody technology to build a diversified product portfolio through the establishment of collaborations with multiple pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. For more information on Abgenix, visit the company's website at www.abgenix.com. |
