CIPH sells its instrument business to BioRad. That'll reduce the overhead some. Only $20 million in cash, though, and that includes the software. Desperate times. Still not a peep from Quest . . . maybe something about on the CC (you can bet questions about Quest and the test were asked, if not answered). Maybe I'll listen to it.
>>FREMONT, Calif., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ciphergen Biosystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CIPH - News) today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2006. In a separate press release, Ciphergen also announced that it has signed a definitive agreement for Bio-Rad Laboratories to acquire Ciphergen's proprietary proteomics instrument business which includes Ciphergen's Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization (SELDI) technology, ProteinChip® Arrays and accompanying software. Bio-Rad will purchase this business for approximately $20 million in cash. In addition, Bio-Rad is making a $3 million equity investment in Ciphergen.
"Today we announced a significant strategic milestone that accelerates our transformation into a leading specialized diagnostics provider," stated Gail S. Page, President and CEO of Ciphergen. "We have a dedicated management team and the financial resources to build an exciting, attractive diagnostics business for long-term growth and sustained shareholder value."
Second Quarter and Six-Month 2006 Financial Results
The Company reported net revenue of $5.3 million in the second quarter of 2006, compared to $6.9 million in the second quarter of 2005. On a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, net loss declined 18 percent to $7.7 million in the second quarter of 2006, compared to $9.4 million in the second quarter of 2005. Excluding the impact of FAS 123® which was adopted by Ciphergen on January 1, 2006, Ciphergen's non-GAAP net loss declined 23 percent to $7.3 million in the second quarter of 2006.
Revenue for the first half of 2006 was $12.3 million compared to $13.6 million in the first half of 2005. For the six months ended June 30, 2006, on a GAAP basis the net loss was $13.2 million, compared to $18.7 million in the same period in 2005. The net loss on a non-GAAP basis for the first half of 2006 was $12.3 million.
At June 30, 2006, the Company's cash and investments were $20.6 million, compared to $24.4 million at March 30, 2006.
Recent Highlights
"In the second quarter, we obtained favorable clinical results supporting our ovarian and prostate cancer diagnostics programs, and presented favorable study results at the ASCO and AUA annual meetings. We also recruited and established a Scientific Advisory Board to help direct and prioritize our other programs for further development and commercialization," continued Ms. Page.
Definitive Agreement with Bio-Rad Laboratories to Purchase Ciphergen's Instrument Business.
-- Bio-Rad will manufacture, sell and market the SELDI technology to
the life sciences marketplace for proteomics applications, such as
biomarker discovery, characterization and validation. Ciphergen will
retain exclusive rights to the diagnostics market. In addition,
Ciphergen will have a supply agreement with Bio-Rad to purchase
SELDI instruments and consumables for the continued development of
its diagnostics business. The companies will collaborate to identify
SELDI customers interested in partnering with Ciphergen to
commercialize biomarker discoveries.
Ovarian Cancer Diagnostic Progress.
-- At the 2006 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical
Oncology (ASCO) held in early June, Ciphergen announced results of
the first ever large-scale multi-institutional independent
validation study of biomarkers discovered through current clinical
proteomics efforts. As in previous studies, an index derived from
the seven markers tested demonstrated improved specificity for
discriminating ovarian cancer from benign pelvic masses, as well as
for the detection of early stage cancer.
-- The biomarkers demonstrated statistically significant power to
differentiate ovarian cancer patients from women with benign disease
(p<.00001). This study is part of a comprehensive program being
conducted with several leading collaborators at The Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine, the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer
Center, University College London, and the University of Kentucky.
In addition to developing assays designed to distinguish between
benign and malignant pelvic masses, studies are underway to predict
recurrence of ovarian cancer and to provide additional tools to aid
physicians in triaging women considered at high risk of ovarian
cancer.
Prostate Cancer Program Progress.
-- At the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA)
held in late May, researchers from Johns Hopkins presented data on
two proprietary biomarkers that may aid in the management of
prostate cancer, including detection, staging and prediction of
recurrence. These markers, a fragment of protein C inhibitor (PCI)
and complement factor 4 (C4a), were identified in a multi-center
study of 400 men and a five-year longitudinal study following 104
patients after radical prostatectomy. These studies demonstrated
that PCI provides information useful for the detection and staging
of prostate cancer, and the combined use of pre-surgery PCI, PSA,
and C4a is predictive of prostate cancer recurrence.
Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).
-- The SAB will meet regularly with Ciphergen's senior management to
help evaluate the Company's ongoing diagnostic programs and
prioritize them towards commercialization. Members include the
following distinguished members of academia and industry:
-- Robert C. Bast, Jr. MD - Vice President for Translational
Research and the Harry Carothers Wiess Distinguished University
Professor for Cancer Research at the University of Texas M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center.
-- Daniel W. Chan, PhD, DABCC, FACR - Professor of Pathology,
Oncology, Urology and Radiology, Director of Clinical Chemistry
Division, Department of Pathology, and the Director, Center for
Biomarker Discovery at the Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine.
-- Ian Jacobs, MD, FRCOG - Director of the Department of
Gynecological Oncology and of the Institute of Women's Health
at University College London.
-- Joyce G. Schwartz, MD - Vice President and Chief Laboratory
Officer of Quest Diagnostics.
-- William Wallen, PhD - Senior Vice President and Chief
Scientific Officer of Idexx Laboratories.
Conference Call Details
A conference call and webcast will be held today, Monday, August 14 at 5:00 p.m. ET to discuss the contents of this press release. To listen to the live webcast of the conference call, please visit the "Investors" section of the www.ciphergen.com web site. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available two hours after the call and will be available until 7:00 p.m. on August 28, 2006. The replay number for domestic callers is 800-633- 8284 and for international callers + 1 402-977-9140. The reservation number for both domestic and international callers is 21300833. In addition, an archived webcast of the conference call will be available under the "Investors" section of the company's website at www.ciphergen.com. <<
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The stock has rallied slightly, but the delisting due to MC issue is still around. We should hear from Quest before an actual delisting, though, assuming CIPH runs through all the delaying tactics with NASDAQ.
Cheers, Tuck |
