OXiGENE Reports First Quarter 2016 Financial Results

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 09, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OXiGENE, Inc. (Nasdaq:OXGN), a biopharmaceutical company developing vascular disrupting agents (VDAs) for the treatment of orphan oncology indications, today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2016.

For the three months ended March 31, 2016, OXiGENE reported a net loss of $3.3 million compared to a net loss of $2.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015. R&D expenses increased to $2.0 million in the first quarter of 2016 compared to $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2015, while general and administrative expenses increased to $1.4 million in the first quarter of 2016 compared to $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2015.

At March 31, 2016, OXiGENE had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $22.9 million. 

“We continued this past quarter to advance and strengthen our clinical programs, and I am optimistic about our future,” stated William D. Schwieterman, M.D., OXiGENE’s President and Chief Executive Officer.  “The FDA recently granted Fast Track designation for our lead investigational drug, CA4P, for the treatment of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, and our phase 2/3 clinical trial in this program, called the FOCUS study, is expected to begin enrolling patients next month.  We have received additional orphan drug designations for CA4P and we continue to believe our vascular-targeted therapies hold great promise for patients and present a great opportunity for shareholders.”

About OXiGENE

OXiGENE is a biopharmaceutical company seeking to realize the full potential of vascular targeted therapy in oncology. Vascular targeted therapy includes vascular disrupting agents (VDAs), such as the investigational drugs that OXiGENE is developing, and anti-angiogenic agents (AAs), a number of which are approved and widely used in oncology indications.

OXiGENE’s VDAs selectively obstruct a tumor’s blood supply without obstructing the blood supply to normal tissues, and treatment with our VDAs has been shown to lead to significant central tumor necrosis. The company believes that the treatment of cancer would be significantly improved if VDAs and AAs are used together, due to their complementary mechanisms of action. In combination, the VDA would occlude the blood vessels in the interior of a tumor while the AA would prevent the formation of new tumor blood vessels.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any or all of the forward-looking statements in this press release, which include the timing of advancement, outcomes, data and regulatory guidance relative to our clinical programs and achievement of our business and financing objectives may turn out to be wrong. Forward-looking statements can be affected by inaccurate assumptions OXiGENE might make or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the sufficiency of OXiGENE’s cash balances to allow it to collect and present data from planned and ongoing clinical trials, the inherent risks of drug development, manufacturing and regulatory review, and the availability of additional financing to pursue and continue development of our programs. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in OXiGENE's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including OXiGENE's reports on Form 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K.  However, OXiGENE undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise. Please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.

Investor and Media Contact: ir@oxigene.com 650-635-7000