Immune Response Corp. 公司公布第三季度
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The Immune Response Corp. (TIRC) on Wednesday posted a third quarter profit, as the company benefited from $7.7 million in deferred research revenue associated with its ended partnership with Pfizer's Agouron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Agouron signed on to co-develop TIRC's phase III investigational HIV vaccine Remune, in 1998. While the drug showed early promise, it began to hit a number of clinical roadblocks that ultimately led to Agouron's pulling out of the collaboration in July this year.
, 百拇医药
Boosted by the deferred revenue, virtually all of the company's revenue in the quarter, TIRC reported third quarter net earnings of $1.4 million, or $0.04 per share, compared with a loss of $5.2 million, or $0.19 per share, in the same period 2000.
Excluding the revenue from Agouron, TIRC would have had a net loss of $6.3 million, or $0.18 per share.
TIRC's research and development spending in the quarter decreased slightly, falling to $5 million from $5.6 million in the year-ago quarter, and driving down overall operating costs by about $450,000 to $6.4 million.
, 百拇医药
Despite the decline in spending, Gruntal & Co. analyst Darren Mac expressed concerns that TIRC might not be working to cut its burn rate enough to compensate for the loss of Agouron and its research funding.
Considering TIRC's $6 million cash position as of September 30, plus the $2 million raised through Tuesday's private placement of a convertible note and warrant, Mac told Reuters Health that he estimates the company has about a quarter's worth of cash left.
, 百拇医药
A TIRC spokesman told Reuters Health that the company is now focused on obtaining capital and cutting costs.
In regard to raising funds, he said that TIRC is in discussion with parties interested in licensing certain of the company's technologies. TIRC has development programs in non-viral gene therapy, cancer cell line therapy and immunomodulation.
He declined to comment on the state of these talks.
, 百拇医药
In terms of cutting costs, the spokesman said that "all employees at the company are making a conscious decision in spending. We're doing what we can to maintain the same level of technology, but conserving cash wherever we can."
He said that, at present, layoffs are not being considered.
Still pinning its hopes on its most developed product candidate, the spokesman said, "We're going do whatever it takes to get Remune to the goal line."
, 百拇医药
But Mac pointed out that "to run a late-stage HIV trial is very expensive."
"On average it's about $50,000 per patient, and you'd need at least 500 to 600 people," he said. "It works out to somewhere like $30 million that they'd have to come up with."
The spokesman agreed that TIRC is not in a position to conduct such trials. Therefore, he said that the company is in "active" discussions with third parties over licensing the exclusive rights to Remune in territories where those rights are still available. Trinity Medical Group holds product rights in Southeast Asia, and Roemmers holds the rights in Latin America.
e declined to comment specifically on the negotiations.
During Wednesday afternoon trading on the NASDAQ, shares of Carlsbad, California-based TIRC were up 0.06 at 1.47.
-New York Newsroom 212 273 1700, 百拇医药
Agouron signed on to co-develop TIRC's phase III investigational HIV vaccine Remune, in 1998. While the drug showed early promise, it began to hit a number of clinical roadblocks that ultimately led to Agouron's pulling out of the collaboration in July this year.
, 百拇医药
Boosted by the deferred revenue, virtually all of the company's revenue in the quarter, TIRC reported third quarter net earnings of $1.4 million, or $0.04 per share, compared with a loss of $5.2 million, or $0.19 per share, in the same period 2000.
Excluding the revenue from Agouron, TIRC would have had a net loss of $6.3 million, or $0.18 per share.
TIRC's research and development spending in the quarter decreased slightly, falling to $5 million from $5.6 million in the year-ago quarter, and driving down overall operating costs by about $450,000 to $6.4 million.
, 百拇医药
Despite the decline in spending, Gruntal & Co. analyst Darren Mac expressed concerns that TIRC might not be working to cut its burn rate enough to compensate for the loss of Agouron and its research funding.
Considering TIRC's $6 million cash position as of September 30, plus the $2 million raised through Tuesday's private placement of a convertible note and warrant, Mac told Reuters Health that he estimates the company has about a quarter's worth of cash left.
, 百拇医药
A TIRC spokesman told Reuters Health that the company is now focused on obtaining capital and cutting costs.
In regard to raising funds, he said that TIRC is in discussion with parties interested in licensing certain of the company's technologies. TIRC has development programs in non-viral gene therapy, cancer cell line therapy and immunomodulation.
He declined to comment on the state of these talks.
, 百拇医药
In terms of cutting costs, the spokesman said that "all employees at the company are making a conscious decision in spending. We're doing what we can to maintain the same level of technology, but conserving cash wherever we can."
He said that, at present, layoffs are not being considered.
Still pinning its hopes on its most developed product candidate, the spokesman said, "We're going do whatever it takes to get Remune to the goal line."
, 百拇医药
But Mac pointed out that "to run a late-stage HIV trial is very expensive."
"On average it's about $50,000 per patient, and you'd need at least 500 to 600 people," he said. "It works out to somewhere like $30 million that they'd have to come up with."
The spokesman agreed that TIRC is not in a position to conduct such trials. Therefore, he said that the company is in "active" discussions with third parties over licensing the exclusive rights to Remune in territories where those rights are still available. Trinity Medical Group holds product rights in Southeast Asia, and Roemmers holds the rights in Latin America.
e declined to comment specifically on the negotiations.
During Wednesday afternoon trading on the NASDAQ, shares of Carlsbad, California-based TIRC were up 0.06 at 1.47.
-New York Newsroom 212 273 1700, 百拇医药