ever informative..Kosan Reports First Quarter Financial Results
Tuesday April 27, 7:30 am ET
HAYWARD, Calif., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kosan Biosciences Incorporated (Nasdaq: KOSN - News) today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2004. Kosan reported revenues of $6.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2004, compared to $5.3 million in the same period in 2003. The $1.1 million increase in 2004 revenue was driven by higher revenue associated with Kosan's epothilone global development and commercialization agreement with Roche, reflecting the advancement of KOS-862 (Epothilone D) into Phase II and Phase Ib clinical trials and the investment in the related fast-follower program.
Kosan reported a quarterly net loss of $4.1 million, or $0.14 per share, compared to $2.6 million, or $0.10 per share, in the same period for the prior year. At March 31, 2004, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $101.2 million compared to $105.3 million at December 31, 2003.
Total operating expenses were $10.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2004, compared to $8.1 million in the same period last year. These increases were primarily due to the cost of progressing KOS-862 into more advanced and diversified clinical trials, development and production efforts relating to the epothilone fast-follower program and higher personnel and other related costs associated with advancing our research and development pipeline toward later stages of development.
About Kosan
Kosan Biosciences has two lead product candidates: KOS-862 and 17-AAG. Both compounds are derived from an important class of natural products known as polyketides. KOS-862 is in Phase II and Phase Ib clinical trials and is partnered with Roche in a global development and commercialization agreement. 17-AAG is being evaluated in multiple Phase I and Phase Ib clinical trials in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute. 17-AAG is a polyketide inhibitor of Hsp90 and interrupts several biological processes implicated in cancer cell growth and survival. By applying its expertise and proprietary technologies to generate polyketide analogs and by increasing the production yields of polyketides, Kosan has created a robust pipeline of potentially significant products for cancer, as well as for infectious disease and other therapeutic areas. For additional information on Kosan Biosciences, please visit the Company's website at www.kosan.com. |
