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WILEX
HY1 2007: projects in line with expectations –improved financial
outlook
Munich, 12 July 2007. The Munich-based biopharmaceutical
company WILEX AG (ISIN DE0006614720/Frankfurt Stock Exchange/Prime Standard)
today published its results and report for HY1 2007 (1 December 2006 – 31
May 2007).
The results are in line with the Company's expectations. All research and development
projects are proceeding according to plan. By optimising its cost structure,
the Company expects expenditure to be around 12 % under budget, thereby improving
the Company's financial outlook. WILEX anticipates that current liquid funds
will probably reach until the first quarter of 2009 which is beyond the previously
published forecast of the second half of 2008.
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Operating expenses in the first
half of 2007 totalled EUR 12.82 million (HY1 2006: EUR 7.86 million;
an increase of 63%). This increase resulted mainly from higher
research and development costs, which as expected were up from
EUR 6.22 million in the previous year to EUR 10.82 million in HY1
2007 (an increase of 74.1%). This development results from the
progress realised in the Phase III ARISER trial with a growing
number of patients and trial centres. Research and development
costs as a percentage of total expenditure increased from 79.1
% in HY1 2006 to 84.4 % in HY1 2007.
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Other operating income amounted to EUR 1.22
million in the first half of 2007, up 96.2% on the same period
of the previous year (EUR 0.62 million). This was due to payments
made by partners in line with progress on the projects.
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There was a strong improvement in the financial
result. Compared with the previous year (EUR -1.20 million), WILEX
posted a net financial result of EUR 0.90 for the first half of
2007. The rise of more than EUR 2 million is attributable to the
generation of interest income from fixed-term deposits as well
as a considerable reduction in WILEX's financial expenditure.
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In line with expectations, WILEX closed
HY1 2007 with a result before tax of EUR -10.7 million (previous
year: EUR -8.44 million; an increase of 26.8%). Of this, EUR -5.78
million was from Q2 2007 (Q1 2007: EUR -4.93 million).
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On the strength of higher than anticipated
patient randomisation in trial centres with lower costs and optimisation
of the production programme for RENCAREX® consistency lots, WILEX
is in a position to revise its guidance for 2007. Assuming that the
research and development projects continue to proceed according to
plan, WILEX anticipates operating expenses of between EUR 26 million
and EUR 30 million (previous year: EUR 19.9 million). This represents
a reduction in costs of approximately EUR 4 million compared to the
previous forecast. Around 85% (previous year: 79 %) of operating expenses
are expected to be attributable to research and development. Operating
income is set to total between approximately EUR 2.5 million and EUR
2.8 million (previous year: EUR 1.7 million) for the year as a whole.
Accordingly, the requirement for financial resources will amount to
between EUR 24 million and EUR 28 million in 2007. WILEX therefore
revised its guidance for its funding requirement. WILEX anticipate
that current liquid funds will probably reach until the first quarter
of 2009 which is beyond the previously published forecast of the second
half of 2008.
In the second quarter the Company continued to develop its late stage multi-product
portfolio of drug and medical product candidates according to plan. The key
events were:
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Patient recruitment in the
Phase III ARISER trial again advanced significantly. To date over
560 of 856 patients planned have been enrolled.
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WILEX has also progressed in the preparation
for the registration trial of CA9-SCAN. On the recommendation of
the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the Company will apply
for a special protocol assessment (SPA), which can significantly
reduce development time. In the second quarter, WILEX prepared
a revised trial protocol and drafted the Imaging Charter which
describes the evaluation procedure to be carried out by independent
experts.
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As scheduled, patient recruitment started
for the clinical Phase II trial with WX-671 in patients with locally
advanced, inoperable and non-metastatic pancreatic cancer.
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"We have made significant progress with our projects according to plan.
Our liquidity status has improved substantially through the optimisation of key
cost areas such as the production of RENCAREX®," commented Peter Llewellyn-Davies,
CFO of WILEX AG. He continued: "We are pleased that we are in a position
to improve our financial situation, but will continue to focus our attention
on the commercialisation of our products and plan to generate additional inflows
of capital in the coming years."
The interim report was published on the Company's website: www.wilex.com.
About WILEX
WILEX is a biopharmaceutical Company based in
Munich founded in 1997 by a team of physicians and oncologists from
the Technical University of Munich. WILEX is focused on the development
of new cancer therapies based on antibodies and small molecules. The
therapeutic approach of WILEX targets the prevention of growth, spread
and the metastasis of malignant tumours and the destruction of malignant
tumours in the body. The late stage multi-product portfolio includes
both drug and medicinal product candidates as well as research candidates.
Currently the following compounds are in clinical development: WX-G250
(development name: RENCAREX®), WX-671, WX-UK1 and CA9-SCAN. The
company’s strategy is to develop WILEX into a commercially successful
biopharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of new drugs and medical
products for the treatment of cancer. WILEX AG has been listed in the
Official Market Segment (Amtlicher Markt) / Prime Standard of the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange since 13 November 2006.
ISIN DE0006614720
WKN 661472
Symbol WL6
Contact
Juliane Giese
Manager Public Relations
WILEX AG
Grillparzerstr. 10
81675 Munich
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)89-41 31 38-29
Fax: +49 (0)89-41 31 38-99
email: investors@wilex.com
Website: http://www.wilex.com
Overview of earnings key figures:
P&L earnings key figures
in EUR
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H1
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2007 H1
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2006 Veränderung in
%
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Other operating income
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1.218
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621
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96,2
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Operating expenses
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(12.819)
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(7.859)
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63,1
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of which research and development
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(10.822)
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(6.216)
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74,1
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Operating result
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(11.601)
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(7.238)
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60,3
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Result before tax
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(10.700)
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(8.437)
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26,8
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Net loss for the period
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(10.707)
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(8.439)
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26,9
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Earnings per share in EUR
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(0,90)
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(1,09)
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Liquid funds
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46.222
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18.274
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Equity ratio
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75,1%
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22,7%
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This communication contains certain forward-looking
statements, relating to the Company's business, which can be identified
by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "believes", "expects", "may", "will" "should" "future", "potential" or
similar expressions or by general discussion of strategy, plans or
intentions of the Company. Such forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may
cause our actual results of operations, financial condition, performance,
or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from
any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, prospective
investors and partners are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
such forward-looking statements. We disclaim any obligation to update
any such forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments.
Given these uncertainties, prospective investors and partners are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We disclaim
any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements to reflect future
events or developments.
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