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Biotech / Medical : Biogen -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Harold Engstrom who wrote (850)	1/14/1999 5:10:00 PM
From: Beltropolis Boy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1686

quod erat demonstrandum. ----- Biogen Reports Record Fourth Quarter and 1998 Results Yearly Net Income And Earnings Per Share Increased by More Than 50 Percent Compared to 1997 January 14, 1999 04:13 PM CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Biogen, Inc. (BGEN) today reported financial results for the year and quarter ended December 31, 1998. For the three months ending December 31, 1998, the Company reported diluted earnings per share of $0.54 and revenues of $168,399,000, compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.42 and revenues of $124,018,000 for the same quarter last year. For the full year, the Company reported net income of $138,697,000 or $1.80 per share, compared to $89,167,000 or $1.17 per share in 1997. Total revenues in 1998 were $557,587,000 compared to $411,909,000 in 1997. The revenue, net income and diluted earnings per share figures for 1998 all represent new records for the Company. Jim Vincent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "As we reported earlier this week at the Hambrecht & Quist Life Sciences Conference, AVONEX(R) (Interferon beta-1a) sales continue to grow in both the U.S. and Europe, with more than 55,000 patients now on AVONEX(R) therapy worldwide -- an increase of 60 percent over last year. Total AVONEX(R) sales in 1998 were $394,863,000 versus $239,988,000, a 65 percent increase. Sales in Europe in the most recent quarter totaled approximately $35 million, more than a three-fold increase over fourth quarter 1997. "AVONEX(R) is the drug of choice in the MS marketplace. We have a two-to-one relative share in the United States, and we are leading in other important markets in Europe and elsewhere. The global MS treatment market is expanding rapidly, due to geographic market growth, increasing acceptance of the need to 'treat early' and treat all persons with MS, and growing patient awareness. Continued growth and penetration in the European market will make a significant contribution to AVONEX(R) revenues in 1999. We believe all of this supports our expectations of a strong 1999." Mr. Vincent said that Biogen currently has three compounds in clinical trials and has ongoing studies of AVONEX(R) that are designed to support a broader label, both for MS and additional indications. The compounds in clinical development are AMEVIVE(TM) (Human LFA-3/IgG1 fusion protein, LFA3TIP), a T-cell inhibiting protein that is being studied as a treatment for psoriasis; ANTOVA(TM) (Humanized anti-CD40 ligand antibody/5c8), for which the Company is conducting Phase 2 trials in ITP (immune thrombocytopenic purpura) and lupus, and will begin Phase 2 trials for renal transplantation this quarter; and ADENTRI(TM) (Adenosine A1 antagonist) for treatment of edema associated with congestive heart failure.