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IDIX Reports 2Q08 Results

[A separate PR today on IDIX’s developments in HCV is in #msg-31043481. IDIX’s balance sheet remains solid: cash on hand at 6/30/08 was $80M, and guidance for the cash balance at year-end is unchanged at $50M. It appears that IDIX’s Tyzeka/Sebivo royalties from NVS during 1H08 were $3.5M, suggesting that NVS’ in-market sales (based on a 20% royalty rate) are running at an annualized rate of about $35M. Please see actual PR for financial tables.]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080729/netu040.html

›Tuesday July 29, 7:00 am ET

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDIX ), a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of human viral and other infectious diseases, today reported unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2008. At June 30, 2008, Idenix's cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $80.6 million.

2008 Year-to-Date Business Highlights

-- Idenix has reported positive data from an ongoing phase I/II study of IDX899, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) being developed for the treatment of HIV-1. Patients receiving once-daily IDX899 achieved a mean plasma viral load reduction of approximately 1.8 log(10) after seven days of treatment in each of the 800 mg, 400 mg and 200 mg dosing cohorts. Patients receiving placebo had a 0.05 log(10) viral load increase over the same treatment period. No treatment-related serious adverse events were reported for any of the patients receiving IDX899 and no patients discontinued the study. Based on the potent antiviral activity of IDX899 observed to date, the study was recently amended to also evaluate a 100 mg/day dose.

-- Idenix has submitted an investigational new drug (IND) application for IDX184, a once-daily, oral nucleotide prodrug candidate for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and has initiated a phase I single dose escalation study in healthy volunteers. IDX184 has demonstrated HCV antiviral activity in both in vitro and in vivo preclinical models.

-- Idenix has continued to make progress in its preclinical HCV discovery effort. Clinical candidates from both its HCV protease inhibitor and non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor programs are entering IND-enabling preclinical studies.

"This year, we have continued to advance our HCV and HIV discovery and development programs," said Jean-Pierre Sommadossi, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Idenix. "We now have a pipeline that includes a promising HIV drug candidate and HCV drug candidates from each of the major HCV drug classes, nucleoside/tide polymerase inhibitors, non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitors and protease inhibitors."

For the second quarter ended June 30, 2008, Idenix reported total revenues of $1.6 million, compared with total revenues of $19.7 million in the second quarter of 2007. The decrease is primarily due to a decline of $11.5 million in reimbursements of research and development costs from Novartis and a decrease of $6.7 million in license fee revenue. Idenix reported a net loss of $18.9 million, or a loss of $0.34 per basic and diluted share, for the second quarter ended June 30, 2008, compared to a net loss of $22.9 million, or a loss of $0.41 per basic and diluted share, for the second quarter ended June 30, 2007.

For the six months ended June 30, 2008, Idenix reported total revenues of $3.6 million, compared with total revenues of $44.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2007. The decrease was due to a decline of $23.0 million in reimbursements of research and development costs from Novartis, a decrease of $8.2 million in license fee revenue and the lack of milestone payments during the first half of 2008 as compared to the first half of 2007. The company reported a net loss of $39.4 million, or a loss of $0.70 per basic and diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2008, compared with a net loss of $34.5 million, or a loss of $0.61 per basic and diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2007.

2008 Financial Guidance

The company continues to expect to end 2008 with approximately $50.0 million of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, assuming no milestone payments, license fees, reimbursement for development programs, and no financing activities during 2008.

Conference Call Information

Idenix will hold a conference call and webcast today at 8:30 a.m. ET. To access the call please dial 800-471-3635 U.S./Canada or 706-758-9475 International and enter passcode 56201724 or to listen to and view the live webcast of the call, go to "Calendar of Events" in the Idenix Investor Center at http://www.idenix.com. A replay of the call will also be available from 11:30 a.m. ET on July 29, 2008 until 11:59 p.m. ET on August 12, 2008. To access the replay, please dial 800-642-1687 U.S./Canada or 706-645-9291 International and enter passcode 56201724. An archived webcast will also be available for two weeks after the call on the Idenix website.

About Idenix

Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of human viral and other infectious diseases. Idenix's current focus is on the treatment of infections caused by hepatitis C virus and HIV. For further information about Idenix, please refer to http://www.idenix.com.‹


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