BioCryst Reports First Quarter 2007 Financial Results
Wednesday May 9, 6:30 am ET
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCRX - News) today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. The Company reported revenues of $9,159,000 in the first quarter of 2007, compared to $771,000 in the first quarter of 2006, primarily due to revenue recognized from the contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 was $8,825,000, or $0.30 per share, compared to a net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 of $7,882,000, or $0.27 per share.
Research and development (R&D) expenses were $16,195,000 in the first quarter of 2007, compared to R&D expenses of $8,043,000 in the first quarter of 2006. The increase is primarily attributable to costs associated with the advancement of our clinical programs, the costs related to manufacturing our lead drug candidates and the increase in personnel related costs, which included an increase in the non-cash share-based compensation charge.
General and administrative (G&A) expenses for the first quarter of 2007 were $2,372,000 compared to G&A expenses of $1,495,000 for the same quarter in 2006. The higher G&A expenses were primarily due to an increase in personnel related costs, including an increase of $561,000 in non-cash share-based compensation costs, and additional professional fees.
As of March 31, 2007, the Company had cash, cash equivalents and investments of $42.8 million.
"In the first quarter of this year we took an important step forward by securing the resources necessary to push forward with the development of peramivir," said Jon P. Stonehouse, Chief Executive Officer of BioCryst. "During the quarter we were awarded a $102.6 million, four year contract from the Department of Health and Human Services that will fund the ongoing clinical trials of peramivir. This award, combined with our recently announced partnership with Shionogi for the drug's development in Japan, will allow us to facilitate the clinical study of peramivir around the world. We are continuing to enroll patients in the phase II i.m. trial and have now moved into Hong Kong and will soon start additional sites in the Southern Hemisphere in an effort to complete this trial as soon as possible so we are able to start the phase III during the 2007-2008 flu season."
Mr. Stonehouse added, "We also continue to advance our PNP compounds and are working with the FDA to finalize the protocol for our Phase IIb clinical trial of Fodosine(TM) in CTCL. We anticipate the initiation of that pivotal clinical trial and the initiation of a Phase IIa trial of our next generation PNP inhibitor, BCX-4208 during the fiscal third quarter. In addition, we expect to share information about further advancement of compounds in our discovery-stage pipeline later in the year. This is an important year for BioCryst and we are looking toward the future by continuing to invest in our pipeline and reinforcing our dedication to building a profitable, multi-product company."
The company will sponsor a conference call at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, May 9, 2007 to discuss the financial results and the status of each of our programs in more detail. This call is open to the public and can be accessed live either over the Internet from www.biocryst.com or by dialing 1-866-293-8970 (U.S.) or 1-913-312-1230 (international). No passcode is needed for the call. |
