Rigel Announces Third Quarter 2006 Financial Results
Tuesday November 7, 7:30 am ET
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL - News) today reported financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2006.
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For the third quarter of 2006, Rigel reported a net loss of $11.4 million, or $0.46 per share, compared to a net loss of $12.9 million, or $0.56 per share, in the third quarter of 2005. Weighted average shares outstanding for the third quarters of 2006 and 2005 were 25.0 million and 23.2 million, respectively.
Rigel reported revenue from collaborations of $6.1 million in the third quarter of 2006, compared to $3.3 million in the third quarter of 2005. The increase in revenue was primarily due to a $3.0 million milestone payment from Serono resulting from the start of patient enrollment in a Phase I study evaluating the safety and tolerability of R763, a multi-Aurora kinase inhibitor for cancer.
Total operating expenses were $18.9 million in the third quarter of 2006, compared to operating expenses of $17.1 million in the third quarter of 2005. This increase was primarily due to higher stock based compensation expense of $3.4 million in the third quarter of 2006, compared to $0.8 million in the same period last year.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, Rigel reported a net loss of $22.2 million, or $0.89 per share, compared to a net loss of $36.4 million, or $1.74 per share, for the same period last year. Rigel recorded revenue from collaborations of $30.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006, compared to $10.5 million for the first nine months of 2005.
As of September 30, 2006, Rigel had cash, cash equivalents and available- for-sale securities of $115.0 million, compared to $122.2 million at June 30, 2006 and $138.2 million at December 31, 2005. Net cash used in the third quarter of 2006 was $7.2 million.
"We made significant progress in our clinical programs this quarter, in particular with our lead product candidate, R788, which in September started patient enrollment in a Phase II study for evaluation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)," said James M. Gower, chairman and chief executive officer of Rigel. "R788 has the potential to stop the progressive destruction of bone and cartilage in RA patients. The Phase II study is expected to enroll up to 180 patients with RA who have active RA despite receiving methotrexate. We expect to initiate a second Phase II trial for R788 by the end of this year to treat immune thrombocytopenic purpura, an autoimmune hematological disease. We also recently selected R348, an orally-available, potent and selective inhibitor of Janus Kinase 3 (JAK3), to enter preclinical studies to support an investigational new drug application planned for 2007." |
