LAVAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - May 14, 2014) - ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX:PLI)(OTCQX:PFSCF) ("ProMetic" or the "Corporation")
- Revenues of $5.7 million in Q1 2014
- IVIG clinical program and regulatory pathway confirmed in pre-IND meeting with the FDA - initiation in patients expected in late 2014
- Plasminogen clinical program and regulatory pathway confirmed in pre-IND meeting with the FDA - initiation in patients expected in early H2 2014
ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX:PLI)(OTCQX:PFSCF) ("ProMetic" or the "Corporation") today reported revenues of $5.7 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014, an increase of $1.3 million compared to revenues of $4.4 million for the first quarter of 2013.
"Our first quarter 2014 financial results are in line with our expectations", stated Mr. Bruce Pritchard, Chief Financial Officer of ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. "We anticipate our product and service revenues from the bioseparation technologies to continue growing. We also anticipate partnering some of our plasma protein products in 2014 and are confident that such partnering will take place at enhanced values", added Mr. Pritchard.
"We expect 2014 to be a pivotal year for ProMetic. Some of our lead drug candidates, from both the plasma derived and small molecules platforms, are scheduled to enter clinical trial stages in patients during the second half of the year", mentioned Mr. Pierre Laurin, President and CEO of ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. "Our product pipeline is developing as planned and the filing of various INDs over the coming months will demonstrate the significant depth and value which our proprietary platform technologies can generate", added Mr. Laurin.
First Quarter 2014 Highlights and Results
First Quarter 2014 Business Highlights
- The Corporation announced the completion of the first commercial-scale production run at its ProMetic BioProduction Inc. plasma purification facility located in Laval, Quebec;
- The Corporation appointed Dr. John Moran as its new Chief Medical Officer ("CMO"), effective as of March 1st, 2014;
- The Corporation entered into a new agreement with a leading vaccines company, for the development of an affinity adsorbent and associated purification process for the production of a novel vaccine product;
- The Corporation received approximately $3.2 million from InvHealth Holding Inc. ("Invhealth"), a corporation wholly-owned and controlled by Mr. Pierre Laurin, President and Chief Executing Officer of ProMetic, as via the repayment of the amended and restated loan entered into in March, 2010 with by ProMetic and InvHealth; and
- The Corporation reported a successful Pre-Investigational New Drug ("Pre-IND) meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for its IVIG product currently under development under NantPro,LLC.
More on First Quarter 2014 Financial Results
The financial information for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014 should be read in conjunction with the Corporation's interim consolidated financial statements as well as the Management's Discussion and Analysis for the quarter ended March 31, 2014.
Total revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014 were $5.7 million compared to $4.4 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. Revenues from the sale of goods amounted to $3.2 million compared to $1.9 million for the same period in 2013. Service revenues remained essentially the same during the quarter ended March 31, 2014 compared to the same period in 2013.
ProMetic generated a net loss of $8.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 compared to a net loss of $2.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2013. Of the $8.6 million net loss incurred in the first quarter of 2014, a total of $3.8 million comes from a non-cash item, the variation in fair value of the warrant liability associated to the Thomvest financing transaction.
ProMetic will be discussing its first quarter 2014 highlights and financial results during its annual and special meeting of shareholders taking place at 10:30am (EST) on Wednesday, May 14, 2014. A live audio webcast of the annual and special meeting of shareholders will be available via the corporate website at: http://www.gowebcasting.com/5531
Additional Information in Respect to the First Quarter ended March 31, 2014
ProMetic's MD&A and interim consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 have been filed on Sedar (http://www.sedar.com/) and will be available on the Corporation's website at www.prometic.com.
About ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.
ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (www.prometic.com) is a long established biopharmaceutical company with globally recognized expertise in bioseparations, plasma-derived therapeutics and small-molecule drug development. ProMetic offers its state of the art technologies for large-scale purification of biologics, drug development, proteomics and the elimination of pathogens to a growing base of industry leaders and uses its own affinity technology that provides for highly efficient extraction and purification of therapeutic proteins from human plasma in order to develop best-in-class therapeutics and orphan drugs. ProMetic is also active in developing its own novel small-molecule therapeutic products targeting unmet medical needs in the field of fibrosis, cancer and autoimmune diseases/inflammation. A number of both the plasma-derived and small molecule products are under development for orphan drug indications. Headquartered in Laval (Canada), ProMetic has R&D facilities in the UK, the U.S. and Canada, manufacturing facilities in the UK and business development activities in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements about ProMetic's objectives, strategies and businesses that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are "forward -looking" because they are based on our current expectations about the markets we operate in and on various estimates and assumptions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements if known or unknown risks affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions turn out to be inaccurate. Such risks and assumptions include, but are not limited to, ProMetic's ability to develop, manufacture, and successfully commercialize value-added pharmaceutical products, the availability of funds and resources to pursue R&D projects, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the ability of ProMetic to take advantage of business opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, uncertainties related to the regulatory process and general changes in economic conditions. You will find a more detailed assessment of the risks that could cause actual events or results to materially differ from our current expectations in ProMetic's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2013, under the heading "Risk and Uncertainties related to ProMetic's business". As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement even if new information becomes available, as a result of future events or for any other reason, unless required by applicable securities laws and regulations. All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless indicated otherwise.