ARIAD Reports Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results and Development Progress
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Maria E. Cantor, 617-621-2208orLiza Heapes, 617-621-2315
(NASDAQ: ARIA) today reported financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2012 and provided an update on corporate developments.
“The second quarter of 2012 was a highly productive time for ARIAD,” stated ., chairman and chief executive officer of ARIAD. “We are executing effectively within all areas of the company with our development programs for ponatinib and AP26113 moving forward either ahead of schedule or as planned, and momentum is building for U.S. and European launch of ponatinib in 2013. This is an exciting time at ARIAD as we build a global commercial oncology company based on our internally discovered product candidates.”
At June 30, 2012, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $250.3 million, compared to $306.3 million at December 31, 2011.
Net loss for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, was $51.3 million, or $0.31 per share, compared to a net loss of $47.8 million, or $0.36 per share, for the same period in 2011. For the six month period ended June 30, 2012, net loss was $107.2 million, or $0.66 per share, compared to a net loss of $85.7 million, or $0.66 per share, for the same period in 2011.
Research and development expenses increased by $20.7 million from the second quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 2012 and by $34.9 million from the first half of 2011 to the first half of 2012 reflecting expansion of development activities for ponatinib, including an increase in personnel expenses to support those activities. In addition, research and development expenses in the second quarter of 2012 included a charge of $4.8 million to write down the carrying value of intangible assets related to ridaforolimus following the Complete Response Letter issued by the FDA in June 2012 to the NDA filed by Merck & Co., Inc. for ridaforolimus in patients with sarcomas.
General and administrative expenses increased by $6.1 million from the second quarter of 2011 to the second quarter of 2012 and by $12.5 million from the first half of 2011 to the first half of 2012 due to growth in commercial operations and supporting activities in anticipation of potential regulatory approval and commercial launch of ponatinib.
ARIAD’s net loss for the first half of 2012 also reflects a charge of $15.9 million, taken in the first quarter of 2012, related to the revaluation of our warrant liability, compared to a charge of $41.5 million for the first half of 2011, due to increases in the market price of our common stock during those periods.
As a result of not receiving the $25 million milestone payment from Merck related to U.S. approval of ridaforolimus in the sarcoma indication, offset in part by reduced expenses, financial guidance for 2012 is being updated.
ARIAD expects cash used in operations for 2012 to be in the range of $162 million to $167 million. ARIAD expects cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at December 31, 2012 to be in the range of $142 million to $147 million. ARIAD estimates that current cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities are sufficient to fund operations to the fourth quarter of 2013.
ARIAD management will be making corporate presentations at the following investor conferences:
ARIAD will hold a live webcast of its quarterly conference call today, August 2, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. (ET). The live webcast can be accessed by visiting the investor relations section of the Company’s website at . The call can be accessed by dialing 1-866-356-4123(domestic) or 1-617-597-5393 (international) five minutes prior to the start time and providing the pass code 35169451. A replay of the call will be available on the ARIAD website approximately two hours after completion of the call and will be archived for three weeks.
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging global oncology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines to transform the lives of cancer patients. ARIAD’s approach to structure-based drug design has led to several internally discovered, molecularly targeted product candidates for drug-resistant or difficult-to-treat cancers, including chronic myeloid leukemia and certain forms of non-small cell lung cancer. For additional information, visit or follow ARIAD on (@ARIADPharm).
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” including, but not limited to, updates on clinical, preclinical and regulatory developments for our product candidates and financial guidance. Forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, outcome of events, timing and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, preclinical data and early-stage clinical data that may not be replicated in later-stage clinical studies, the costs associated with our research, development, manufacturing and other activities, the conduct, timing and results of pre-clinical and clinical studies of our product candidates, the adequacy of our capital resources and the availability of additional funding, and other factors detailed in the Company's public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The information contained in this press release is believed to be current as of the date of original issue. The Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this document to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in the Company's expectations, except as required by law.