Anybody listen to the call?
For the first quarter of 2006, the Company reported a net loss of $3.7 million, or $0.04 per common share, compared to a net loss of $4.7 million, or $0.05 per common share, for the first quarter of 2005. Revenue for the first quarter of 2006 was $2.4 million, compared to $2.0 million for the same quarter in the prior year. Revenue in 2006 and 2005 consists primarily of development revenue earned under a congestive heart failure collaboration agreement with Celladon and the HIV/AIDS vaccine collaboration with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). Revenue in 2006 also consists of development revenue from the NIAID contract to develop AAV-based HIV/AIDS vaccines.
"We continue to make good progress in our lead clinical program for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis and are working towards multiple milestones in 2006. We recently amended the Phase I clinical study in inflammatory arthritis to include a third-higher dose and 120 patients. Under this amended protocol, the study is now designated a Phase I/II trial. We are scheduled to present interim Phase I/II data at the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT) meeting in early June, and we expect to present additional data from this study in the fourth quarter," said H. Stewart Parker, president and chief executive officer of Targeted Genetics. "We have also extended our cash horizon through a common stock financing and restructured operations to reduce expenses. These adjustments, combined with our projected funding from collaborations, extend our cash horizon and give us the resources needed to advance our inflammatory arthritis product candidate."
Operating expenses decreased to $6.2 million for the first quarter of 2006, compared to $6.6 million the first quarter of 2005. Research and development expenses decreased to $3.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2006, from $4.5 million for the same period of 2005. General and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2006 were $1.5 million, compared to $1.9 million for the same period in 2005. Cash and cash equivalents were $16.0 million at March 31, 2006 and guidance for the estimated burn rate for 2006 remains at a range of $13 to $16 million.
First Quarter and Recent 2006 Corporate Highlights
Amended clinical protocol of Phase I tgAAC94 trial in patients with inflammatory arthritis to include a higher dose and 120 patients; study now designated a Phase I/II;
Raised $5 million in common stock offering;
Realigned operations to reduce expenses and concentrate resources on key product development programs and business development activities; reduced anticipated cash burn for 2006 by 25% over 2005 results to a range of $13 - $16 million;
In collaboration with IAVI, initiated Phase II HIV/AIDS Vaccine clinical trials at five sites in Uganda and now Zambia; Parallel trials are currently underway at three sites in South Africa;
Further strengthened intellectual property portfolio for AAV vector manufacturing processes with the issuance of two additional patents;
Appointed David J. Poston as Chief Financial Officer. |
