OctoPlus publishes third quarter business update
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
OctoPlus N.V. ("OctoPlus" or the "Company") (Euronext: OCTO), the drug delivery
company, publishes its business update for the third quarter of 2010.
Highlights
Proprietary drug delivery technologies
OctoPlus offers a platform of controlled release drug delivery technologies that
enable the development of improved pharmaceutical products that have fewer side
effects and improved patient convenience.
* Four additional drug delivery evaluation contracts signed in 2010, including
Novartis and a top-5 pharmaceutical company
* Acceleration of the adoption of the PolyActive® drug delivery technology
will lead to a broader product pipeline in 2011.
Product pipeline
Locteron® is the most advanced product incorporating our PolyActive technology.
Locteron is a controlled release formulation of interferon alpha, which we
manufacture for our licensee Biolex.
* In October, Biolex Therapeutics published positive interim results at week
60 of the Phase IIb trial with Locteron:
- The results confirm Locteron's improved tolerability profile, showing a
statistically significant reduction in flu-like adverse events for patients
treated with a Locteron injection once-every-two-weeks, compared to weekly
PEG-Intron dosing
- In addition, new data was published showing lower rates of depression in
the two lower doses of Locteron compared to patients receiving PEG-Intron
* On 9 November, Biolex announced the appointment of Kurt Graves as Executive
Chairman as Biolex prepares for Phase III trials and commercialisation of
Locteron
* Locteron's Phase IIb study is expected to be successfully completed before
the end of the year.
Financial results
As previously stated we expect the second half-year results to exceed those of
the first half year, however financial results in 2010 are affected by reduced
activities for Locteron, which was not unexpected as a result of Locteron's
phase of clinical development.
* A strong order portfolio generated revenues from drug delivery programs and
services (excluding Locteron) that have grown significantly in the third
quarter compared to the first and second quarter
* Lower cost base is being continued in the second half-year
* Revenues coming from Locteron in line with expectations; substantially lower
than the same period last year as development and manufacturing for Phase
IIb is completed.
Outlook
* A strengthened order portfolio whilst maintaining a lower cost base provides
a strong outlook for the second half-year compared to the first half-year,
however in line with earlier reporting the full year revenues will be
significantly lower than in 2009 because of Locteron's current phase of
clinical development
* We continue our efforts to progress another product utilising our PolyActive
technology into the next phase of development in the next 12 months
* With the current cash position and available credit facility, the reduced
cost base, current order portfolio and acquisition pipeline, we expect to be
able to continue OctoPlus' development towards profitability
* On 4 November we announced that Jan Hendrik Egberts was hired as CEO. He has
started working with Simon Sturge and the executive team to ensure a smooth
transition in January 2011.
Simon Sturge, CEO of OctoPlus comments:"We are on track to achieve our
expectations for a stronger second half-year. In the third quarter we secured a
number of significant contracts, which is very encouraging. Four contracts that
have been signed this year involve our proprietary drug delivery technology,
which further builds our controlled release product portfolio."
For further information, please contact:
Rianne Roukema, Corporate Communications: telephone number +31 (71) 524 1071, or
send an e-mail to Investor Relations at IR(at)octoplus.nl.
About OctoPlus
OctoPlus is a drug delivery service company committed to the creation of
improved pharmaceutical products that are based on OctoPlus' proprietary drug
delivery technologies and have fewer side effects, improved patient convenience
and a better efficacy/safety balance than existing therapies. OctoPlus focuses
on the development of long-acting, controlled release versions of known protein
therapeutics, other drugs, and vaccines on behalf of its clients.
The clinically most advanced product incorporating our technology is Biolex
Therapeutics' lead product Locteron®, a controlled release formulation of
interferon alpha for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. OctoPlus licensed
Locteron exclusively to Biolex in October 2008. Locteron is being manufactured
for Biolex by OctoPlus and is currently in Phase IIb clinical studies.
In addition, OctoPlus is a leading European provider of advanced drug
formulation and clinical scale manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industries, with a focus on difficult-to-formulate active
pharmaceutical ingredients.
OctoPlus is listed on Euronext Amsterdam by NYSE Euronext under the symbol OCTO.
For more information about OctoPlus, please visit our website www.octoplus.nl.
This document may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the
business, financial performance and results of OctoPlus and the industry in
which it operates. These statements are based on OctoPlus' current plans,
estimates and projections, as well as its expectations of external conditions
and events. In particular the words "expect", "anticipate", "predict",
"estimate", "project", "plan", "may", "should", "would", "will", "intend",
"believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. We caution investors that a number of important factors, and the
inherent risks and uncertainties that such statements involve, could cause
actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any
forward-looking statements. In the event of any inconsistency between an English
version and a Dutch version of this document, the English version will prevail
over the Dutch version.
[HUG#1461308]
Click here for the press release in PDF format:
http://hugin.info/137076/R/1461308/400523.pdf
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originality of the information contained therein.
Source: OctoPlus N.V. via Thomson Reuters ONE
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 11.11.2010 - 07:30 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 48652
Anzahl Zeichen: 7499
contact information:
Town:
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Kategorie:
Business News
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