SAN DIEGO, April 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDS), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving patient care by developing novel medicines in the areas of hepatitis C and oncology, today reported its financial results and highlights for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008.
"We made significant progress in both of our development programs during the first quarter," said Steve Worland, Ph.D., President and CEO of Anadys. "We successfully completed preclinical evaluation of ANA598, our non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor for the treatment of hepatitis C, and have subsequently filed an IND for this product candidate. We also commenced dosing with ANA773, our oral TLR7 agonist prodrug, in patients with advanced cancer." Providing an updated cash outlook for 2008, Dr. Worland added, "Based on promising results from the preclinical evaluation of ANA598, we have made the strategic decision to accelerate certain non-clinical development activities for ANA598 into 2008 and now expect our cash utilization this year to be in the range of $29 million to $31 million."
Financial Results
As of March 31, 2008, the Company's cash, cash equivalents and securities available-for-sale totaled $48.8 million compared to $56.5 million as of December 31, 2007.
During the first quarter of 2008 the Company had no revenue, compared to $1.1 million in revenue for the same quarter of 2007. The revenue in the first quarter of 2007 was primarily derived from the amortization of an upfront payment and milestone payment under a prior collaboration.
Research and development expenses were $6.0 million for the first quarter of 2008 compared to $6.7 million for the first quarter of 2007. The $0.7 million decrease primarily resulted from cost savings derived from our completed strategic restructuring and associated termination of prior development programs, partially offset by an increase in development costs for ANA773 and ANA598 in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the first quarter of 2007.
General and administrative expenses remained relatively consistent at approximately $2.1 million for the first quarter of both 2008 and 2007.
Operating expenses were $8.1 million for the first quarter of 2008, compared to $8.8 million for the first quarter of 2007. Included as a component of Anadys' operating expenses were non-cash, share-based expenses of $0.7 million and $1.1 million for the first quarter of 2008 and 2007, respectively.
The net loss was $7.4 million for the first quarter of 2008, compared to a net loss of $6.7 million for the first quarter of 2007. Basic and diluted net loss per common share was $0.26 in the first quarter of 2008 compared to $0.23 in the first quarter of 2007. Non-cash share-based expense resulted in a $0.02 and $0.04 decrease in basic and diluted net loss per share for the three months ended March 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
Webcast of Conference Call
Anadys will host a conference call at 5:00 p.m. EDT today to discuss its first quarter financial results and highlights and to provide an update on its development programs. A live webcast of the call will be available online at http://www.anadyspharma.com. A telephone replay will also be available approximately one hour after completion of the call. To access the telephone replay, dial 888-286-8010 (domestic) or 617-801-6888 (international), passcode 65984063. The webcast and telephone replay will be available through May 14, 2008.
About Anadys
Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving patient care by developing novel medicines in the areas of hepatitis C and oncology. The Company is developing ANA598, a small-molecule, non- nucleoside inhibitor of the NS5b polymerase for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, and ANA773, an oral TLR7 agonist prodrug for cancer.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature constitute "forward-looking statements." Such statements include, but are not limited to, references to the expected timing and planned development activities for ANA598 and ANA773, including the occurrence, timing and pace of future clinical trials, the belief that ANA598 has the potential for beneficial combination with several other anti-HCV agents, the anticipated future clinical benefits of ANA598 and ANA773 and expectations regarding cash utilization. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause Anadys' actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For example, the results of preclinical studies may not be predictive of future results, and Anadys cannot provide any assurances that ANA598 or ANA773 will not have unforeseen safety issues, will have favorable results in future clinical trials or will receive regulatory approval. In addition, Anadys' results may be affected by competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, its effectiveness at managing its financial resources, its ability to successfully develop and market products, difficulties or delays in its preclinical studies or clinical trials, difficulties or delays in manufacturing its clinical trials materials, the scope and validity of patent protection for its products, regulatory developments involving future products and its ability to obtain additional funding to support its operations. Risk factors that may cause actual results to differ are more fully discussed in Anadys' SEC filings, including Anadys' Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Anadys is providing this information as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
