›Emory University Professor is Renowned Developer of HIV Drugs
Thursday December 18, 2008, 7:00 am EST
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Dec. 18, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NasdaqGM: ACHN ), a leader in the discovery and development of small molecule drugs to combat the most challenging infectious diseases, today announced the appointment of Dennis C. Liotta, Ph.D. to its Board of Directors. Dr. Liotta will fill the vacancy created by the departure of Jean-Francois Formela, M.D.
Dr. Liotta is the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Chemistry at Emory University, and has been a professor of organic chemistry at the university since 1976. Together with colleagues, Dr. Liotta was responsible for the discovery of the breakthrough HIV drugs 3TC and FTC, which are part of the majority of AIDS combination therapies used today.[3TC and FTC are alternate names for Lamivudine and Emtriva, the latter being a component of Truvada and Atripla.] While at Emory, Dr. Liotta has been the recipient of many distinguished fellowships including those from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
In addition to chairing a number of worldwide conferences and symposia, Dr. Liotta is a member of the scientific advisory boards of Chimerix, iThemba Pharmaceuticals and MetaStatix. He is also a member of the board of directors of FOB Synthesis, Inc., which is collaborating with Achillion on an antibacterial research program. Dr. Liotta received a BA from Queens College and a Ph.D. from the City University of New York.
``We welcome Dr. Liotta to our Board, where his distinguished career and vast experience in medicinal chemistry will be valuable to Achillion as we advance our pipeline of product candidates into the clinic in 2009,'' said Michael Kishbauch, President and Chief Executive Officer of Achillion. ``We are confident that Dr. Liotta will enhance Achillion's reputation for innovative and high-quality scientific research as we continue to seek novel approaches to the most challenging infectious diseases.''
About Achillion
Achillion is an innovative pharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing important new treatments to patients with infectious disease. The company's proven discovery and development teams have advanced multiple product candidates with novel mechanisms of action. Achillion is focused on solutions for the most challenging problems in infectious disease -- hepatitis, resistant bacterial infections and HIV. For more information on Achillion Pharmaceuticals, please visit the company's web site at http://www.achillion.com.‹
NEW HAVEN, Conn., March 25, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NasdaqGM: ACHN ), a leader in the discovery and development of small molecule drugs to combat the most challenging infectious diseases, today reported financial results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2008.
For the fourth quarter of 2008, the Company reported a net loss of $8.7 million, compared to a net loss of $6.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. For the full year ended December 31, 2008, the Company's net loss was $28.2 million, compared to a net loss of $28.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2007. Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities at December 31, 2008 were $35.4 million.
``The coming year is a potential break-out period for Achillion, as we expect to advance both of our lead programs for treating hepatitis C into the clinic,' said Michael Kishbauch, President and CEO of Achillion. ``With ACH-1095, also known as GS-9525 by our collaboration partner, Gilead Sciences Inc. (NasdaqGS: GILD), we believe we have the potential for a first-in-class NS4A antagonist that has been shown to work in combination with other therapies in development. With ACH-1625, we believe we have the potential for a best-in-class HCV protease inhibitor given the compound's safety and pharmacokinetics. We believe that having both potential first-in-class and best-in-class therapies in HCV will provide us with a significant advantage, as HCV is a disease in which combination therapies are expected to become the standard of care.'
Fourth quarter results
The Company reported a net loss of $8.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2008, compared to a net loss of $6.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2007. Revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2008 totaled negative $1.3 million, as compared to revenue of $393,000 in the three months ended December 31, 2007. In March 2009, the Company, along with its collaboration partner, Gilead Sciences, revised its estimate of the term and level of effort of the Company's performance obligation under the collaboration, thereby lengthening the period of revenue recognition. Accordingly, in the fourth quarter of 2008, Achillion adjusted its revenue to reflect the Company's revised estimate of its proportionate performance through December 31, 2008, resulting in negative revenue in the fourth quarter of 2008 and reflecting a non-cash reduction in amounts previously recognized as revenue under the collaboration.
Research and development expenses were $5.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to $6.2 million for the same period of 2007. Research and development expenses were primarily related to costs incurred from late stage preclinical assessment of the Company's two HCV compounds, and to a lesser extent, from ongoing clinical trials for elvucitabine for HIV. For the three months ended December 31, 2008, general and administrative expenses totaled $1.6 million, unchanged compared to the same period in 2007.
Full-year results
For the year ended December 31, 2008, the Company reported a net loss of $28.2 million, compared to a net loss of $28.1 million in 2007. Total revenues were negative $234,000 for the year ended December 31, 2008, compared to $4.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2007. Revenues were negative due to a change in estimate regarding the term and level of effort under its collaboration agreement with Gilead Sciences to develop compounds for use in treating chronic hepatitis C.
For the year ended December 31, 2008, research and development expenses totaled $21.2 million, decreased from $28.1 million in 2007, primarily a result of the substantial completion of clinical trials in the Company's HIV development program, offset somewhat by increased research and development activities in the Company's HCV programs.
General and administrative expenses were $6.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, and remain unchanged from the year ended December 31, 2007.
2009 Financial Guidance
The Company expects that net cash used in operating activities in 2009 will be between $24 and $25 million based on current operating plans, anticipated timelines and the estimated cost of clinical trials and product development programs. The net loss per share is anticipated to range from $0.95 to $0.98 per share. The Company is considering enhancing its cash balance through several methods including incremental equity capital formation, non-dilutive capital formation and/or potential upfront or milestone revenue generation from collaboration agreements.
Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call and simultaneous webcast on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. To participate in the conference call, please dial (877) 681-3378 in the U.S. or (719) 325-4811 for international callers. A live audio webcast of the call will be accessible at http://www.achillion.com, under the News Center section of the website. Please connect to Achillion's website several minutes prior to the start of the broadcast to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be necessary.
A replay of the webcast will be available on http://www.achillion.com. Alternatively, a replay of the conference call will be available starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on March 25, 2009, through 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on April 28, 2009 by dialing (888) 203-1112 or (719) 457-0820. The replay passcode is 3576149.
About Achillion
Achillion is an innovative pharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing important new treatments to patients with infectious disease. The company's proven discovery and development teams have advanced multiple product candidates with novel mechanisms of action. Achillion is focused on solutions for the most challenging problems in infectious disease -- hepatitis, resistant bacterial infections and HIV. For more information on Achillion Pharmaceuticals, please visit the company's web site at http://www.achillion.com or call Achillion at 1-203-624-7000.‹
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