Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2003 Financial Results
- Keryx to Hold Investor Conference Call Tomorrow, Thursday,
August 14, 2003 at 10:00 AM EDT -
NEW YORK, Aug. 13 / -- Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Nasdaq: KERX; London AIM: KRX), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the
acquisition, development and commercialization of novel pharmaceutical
products for the treatment of life-threatening diseases, including diabetes
and cancer, released financial results for the second quarter ended
June 30, 2003.
The net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2003 of $(1,509,000), or
$(0.07) per share, was $902,000 less than the net loss of $(2,411,000), or
$(0.12) per share, for the year ago quarter. The decrease in net loss was
primarily attributable to the reduction of early stage research activities and
associated personnel expenses resulting from restructuring programs initiated
in 2002 and 2003. This decrease was partially offset by a $186,000 non-cash
impairment charge, arising from the Company's current restructuring program.
The decrease was also partially offset by a $420,000 non-cash accelerated
depreciation expense, taken in the second quarter of 2003, relating to the
shortening of the useful life of the leasehold improvements in its Jerusalem
facility and which was included in general and administrative expenses. The
decrease was further partially offset by increased non-cash compensation
expense and lower interest income in the second quarter of 2003, as compared
to the second quarter of 2002.
At June 30, 2003, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, interest
receivable and investment securities of $21.0 million, compared to cash, cash
equivalents, interest receivable and investment securities of $22.4 million at
March 31, 2003 and $24.1 million at December 31, 2002.
Commenting on the quarter, Michael S. Weiss, Keryx's Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, said, "During this quarter, we continued to cut the
operating burn rate of the Company while making significant strides towards
the initiation of our U.S.-based clinical program for KRX-101, our advanced
clinical-stage drug candidate for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. I am
very excited that the esteemed Collaborative Study Group, the very same group
that was responsible for conducting the trial which led to the approval of
irbesartan for diabetic nephropathy, will be conducting our trial. I view
their participation as a major vote of confidence in KRX-101. Additionally, I
believe the recently launched S.O.A.R. program has the potential to result in
several important collaborations with leading investigators from around the
world who can help us further explore KRX-101's ability to potentially treat a
number of diseases beyond diabetic nephropathy." Mr. Weiss added, "We made
substantial progress during the second quarter, and I look forward to building
on this momentum in the second half of 2003."
Keryx will host a conference call tomorrow, Thursday, August 14, 2003 at
10:00 am EDT. In order to participate in the conference call, please call
1-866-527-8676 (U.S.) ID Code: Keryx, 1-866-485-2399 (Canada), 1-800-227-297
(Israel), 0-800-917-4613 (UK), 0-800-903-025 (France), 0-800-563-309
(Switzerland), and 0-800-182-6846 (Germany).
The audio recording of the conference call will be available for replay at
www.keryx.com, for a period of 15 days after the call.
ABOUT KERYX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: KERX; London AIM: KRX) is a
biopharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development and
commercialization of novel pharmaceutical products for the treatment of
life-threatening diseases, including diabetes and cancer. Keryx is developing
KRX-101 (sulodexide), a novel first-in-class oral heparinoid compound, for the
treatment of diabetic nephropathy, for which Keryx is currently planning its
U.S.-based Phase II/III clinical program. In addition, Keryx recently
initiated its S.O.A.R. (Sulodexide Open Access Research) Program, which is
designed to expand the knowledge of the potential clinical applications of
KRX-101 by partnering with academia to conduct a broad-based clinical and
pre-clinical evaluation of KRX-101. Keryx also has an active in-licensing
program designed to identify and acquire clinical-stage drug candidates.
Additionally, Keryx is seeking partners for its KinAce(TM) drug discovery
technology and related products. Keryx Biopharmaceuticals is headquartered in
New York City.
Some of the statements included in this press release, particularly those
anticipating future financial performance, business prospects, growth and
operating strategies and similar matters, are forward-looking statements that
involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For those statements, we claim
the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Important factors may
cause our actual results to differ materially, including: our ability to
successfully begin and complete cost-effective clinical trials of KRX-101; the
success of the S.O.A.R. program and its ability to develop uses for KRX-101
that can impact a number of disease states beyond diabetic nephropathy; the
continued costs of our restructuring, including potential claims resulting
from the termination of the operations of our subsidiaries in Israel; and
other risk factors identified from time to time in our SEC reports, including,
but not limited to, the report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2002, and our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30,
2003, which will be filed with the SEC on or before August 14, 2003. Any
forward-looking statements set forth in this news release speak only as of the
date of this news release. We do not intend to update any of these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after
the date hereof. This press release and prior releases are available at
www.keryx.com. The information in Keryx's website is not incorporated by
reference into this press release and is included as an inactive textual
reference only.
KERYX CONTACT:
Ron Bentsur
VP Finance and Investor Relations
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Tel: +1-212-531-5965
E-mail: ron@keryx.com
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
Selected Consolidated Financial Data
(Thousands of US Dollars, Except Share and Per Share Data)
Statement of Operations:
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
(unaudited) (audited)
2003 2002 2003 2002
OPERATING EXPENSE:
Research and Development
Non-cash compensation $(249) $(764) $(515) $ (1,344)
Other research and
development 554 2,316 3,925 5,259
Total research
and development 305 1,552 3,410 3,915
General and administrative
Non-cash compensation $50 $ (2) $52 $ (8)
Other general and
administrative 1,205 1,082 1,869 2,392
Total general and
administrative 1,255 1,080 1,921 2,384
LOSS FROM OPERATIONS (1,560) (2,632) (5,331) (6,299)
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE):
Financing income, net 65 160 150 334
Taxes on income (14) 61 (116) 11
NET LOSS $(1,509) $(2,411) $(5,297) $(5,954)
NET LOSS PER COMMON SHARE
Basic and diluted $(0.07) $(0.12) $(0.26) $(0.30)
SHARES USED IN COMPUTING
NET LOSS PER COMMON
SHARE
Basic and diluted 20,739,770 19,897,032 20,377,416 19,893,701
Balance Sheet:
June 30, 2003 December 31, 2002
(unaudited) (audited)
Cash, cash equivalents, interest
receivable and investment
securities $20,965 $24,131
Total assets 22,118 29,103
Accumulated deficit (50,799) (45,502)
Stockholders' equity 20,684 26,330
SOURCE Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
-0- 08/13/2003
/CONTACT: Ron Bentsur, VP Finance and Investor Relations of Keryx
Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-212-531-5965, ron@keryx.com/
/Web Site: http://www.keryx.com /
(KERX)
END