Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

IDIX Reports 4Q08 Results

[The effective cash balance as of today, including the $34M receivable from GSK, is about $75M (#msg-34813718). IDIX projects a slightly lower cash burn in 2009 than the $65M burned in 2008, and hence the current cash balance is sufficient to fund operations throughout 2009 without any financing transactions.

Completion of the IDX184 monotherapy study has been pushed back slightly to mid 2009, although there may be some interim data at EASL in April.]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Idenix-Pharmaceuticals-prnews-14387668.html

›Tuesday February 17, 2009, 4:05 pm EST

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 17 /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 fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2008. At December 31, 2008, Idenix's cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $46.1 million. [This excludes the $34M from GSK.]

Business Highlights

* Idenix successfully completed a phase I/II proof-of-concept study of IDX899, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in September 2008. In February 2009, the company announced that it had licensed its NNRTI program, including IDX899, to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and, subject to closing conditions, will receive a $34 million payment, $17 million of which will be a cash payment and the other $17 million representing the purchase of shares of Idenix common stock by GSK. Idenix will also be eligible to receive up to $416 million in development, regulatory and sales milestones.

* During 2008, Idenix completed a phase I, healthy volunteer study of IDX184, its lead nucleotide polymerase inhibitor for the treatment of hepatitis C, and advanced the drug candidate into proof-of-concept testing in treatment-naive HCV-infected patients.

* Additionally, during 2008, the company selected clinical candidates and continued IND-enabling preclinical studies for its lead HCV non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor and HCV protease inhibitor programs.

"Idenix began 2008 with a renewed focus on our discovery and development programs and ended the year with a successfully completed proof-of-concept study for IDX899 for the treatment of HIV and a robust pipeline of HCV programs spanning the three classes of direct-acting antivirals," said Jean-Pierre Sommadossi, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Idenix. "As we begin 2009, the recent execution of the license agreement for IDX899 enables us to focus all of our resources on the advancement of our HCV programs, with the goal of having a drug candidate from each of the three major classes of direct-acting antivirals in the clinic."

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2008, Idenix reported total revenues of $4.3 million, compared with total revenues of $12.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. The decrease was mainly due to $10.1 million in lower reimbursements of research and development costs from Novartis. Idenix reported a net loss of $13.9 million, or a loss of $0.25 per basic and diluted share, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2008, compared to a net loss of $17.5 million, or a loss of $0.31 per basic and diluted share for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2007.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2008, Idenix reported total revenues of $10.0 million, compared with total revenues of $68.0 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2007. The majority of the decrease was due to $40.6 million in lower reimbursements of research and development costs from Novartis, a decrease of $10.0 million due to the lack of milestone payments in 2008 as compared to 2007 and $8.0 million due to lower license fee revenue. The company reported a net loss of $70.2 million, or a loss of $1.24 per basic and diluted share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2008, compared with $82.5 million, or a loss of $1.47 per basic and diluted share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2007. The net loss reported for the twelve months ended December 31, 2007 included $8.7 million in restructuring charges, which included the impairment of certain assets equal to approximately $2.1 million.

2009 Financial Guidance

Including the $34 million Idenix expects to receive from the licensing of IDX899, the company anticipates that its current cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities can fund operations through at least the next twelve months. This guidance assumes no milestone payments, additional license fees, reimbursement for development programs, and no financing activities during 2009.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Idenix will hold a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET. To access the call please dial [phone] U.S./Canada or [phone] International and enter passcode 84153140. To listen to a live webcast of the call, go to "Calendar of Events" in the Idenix Investor Center at www.idenix.com. Please log in approximately 10 minutes before the call to ensure a timely connection. A replay of the conference call and webcast will be available until March 4, 2009. To access the replay, please dial [phone] U.S./Canada or [phone] International and enter the passcode 84153140.

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 hepatitis C virus. For further information about Idenix, please refer to www.idenix.com.‹