HOLON, Israel, Feb. 15,
2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN), a leading
predictive drug discovery company, today reported financial results
for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016.
Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., CEO and
President of Compugen, stated, "During the past year the Company
has made important achievements and tremendous progress. For the
first time in the history of the Company, we now have an internal
preclinical development stage immuno-oncology pipeline that is
being aggressively advanced towards a clinical stage pipeline. In
addition, we have programs in the target validation stage, which
are queued for incorporation into our therapeutic development
pipeline. With these assets in hand, we firmly believe that we are
positioned to take a transformational step forward that will
establish Compugen's position in the industry as a leading product
discovery and development company with a portfolio of potential
first-in-class products for cancer immunotherapy, and a promising
immune-tolerizing therapy for autoimmune diseases, all based on our
unique predictive discovery infrastructure."
Martin Gerstel, Chairman of
Compugen, stated, "The largest portion of my long-term chairmanship
at Compugen has been devoted to establishing a world leading,
broadly applicable predictive discovery capability, and then, based
on the initial use of this unique capability, developing an
extremely promising early stage immuno-oncology pipeline. I believe
that based on our past achievements, and in particular, the
progress made last year as mentioned by Anat, we have now clearly
accomplished these very impressive objectives. Furthermore, in my
opinion, following the entrance of a potential first-in-class
product candidate from our Pipeline Program into human clinical
testing, and the signing of an additional high-value collaboration
agreement, these past achievements will be more broadly recognized,
and I have no doubt that we will then be seen as, and in fact be, a
very different company with both new opportunities and new
challenges. Accordingly, I believe it would be appropriate for
Compugen to have a new chairperson on board at that time to guide
the next chapter of our corporate growth as the Company leverages
its unique capabilities to expand and enhance our medical and
commercial value."
Mr. Gerstel continued, "Therefore, I have requested the Board to
initiate a process to identify and recruit an appropriate person
with the required capabilities and experience to replace me as
chairperson. A recruitment process for a chairperson of a publicly
owned company typically takes six months or more from initiation
until the new chairperson is in place. We are announcing this now
so that we can begin a careful and open search without undo time
pressure. Based on current estimates, a new chairperson may be
selected before we have achieved both an IND filing on a Pipeline
Product candidate and the signing of an additional industry
collaboration. In any case, it is my intention to both continue
with the Company, but of course in a different capacity in the
event of a new chairperson, and to also maintain in total my equity
ownership position until at least both of these key objectives are
achieved."
Dr. Cohen-Dayag commented, "Martin's leadership and vision have
been a driving force for the Company for two decades, however, I
fully understand his belief that we are rapidly nearing a time when
a new chairperson would be appropriate to guide the next chapter of
our corporate growth."
Financial Results
Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2016 were $0.1 million, compared with $8.3 million in the comparable period of 2015.
The decrease in revenues is primarily attributable to achievement
of the third preclinical Bayer collaboration milestone for
CGEN-15001T in the amount of $7.8
million in the comparable quarter of 2015. Revenues for the
year ended December 31, 2016 were
$0.7 million, compared with
$9.3 million for the year ended
December 31, 2015. The decrease in
revenues is attributed to the lower amount of Bayer milestones
achieved in 2016 and the amortization of the $10 million upfront payment received in 2013 at
the time the collaboration was signed.
R&D expenses for the fourth quarter and year ended
December 31, 2016 were $6.3 million and $24.5
million, respectively, compared with $5.8 million and $21.2
million for the comparable periods in 2015. The increase
reflects a substantial increase in our preclinical activities
involving our Pipeline Program candidates, primarily COM701 and our
anti-TIGIT antibody.
Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2016 was $8.5 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, compared with a net loss
of $0.5 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, in the comparable period
of 2015. Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2016 was $31.5 million, or $0.62 per diluted share, compared with a net loss
of $20.2 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, for the year ended
December 31, 2015.
As of December 31, 2016, cash,
cash related accounts, short-term and long-term bank deposits
totaled $61.5 million, compared with
$81.4 million at December 31, 2015. The Company has no debt.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
Compugen will hold a conference call to discuss its fourth
quarter and yearend 2016 results today, February 15, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. ET. To access the conference call,
please dial 1-888-668-9141 from the US, or +972-3-9180609
internationally. The call will also be available via live webcast
through Compugen's website, located at the following link. A replay
of the conference call will be available approximately two hours
after the completion of the live conference call. To access the
replay, please dial 1-888-326-9310 from the US or +972-3-9255904
internationally. The replay will be available through February 18, 2017.
(Tables to follow)
About Compugen
Compugen is a leading therapeutic discovery company utilizing
its broadly applicable predictive discovery infrastructure to
identify novel drug targets and develop first-in-class biologics.
The primary focus of the Company's current pipeline is on immune
checkpoint target candidates discovered by the Company, potentially
providing the basis for a next wave of therapeutics for cancer
immunotherapy. Compugen's business model is based on selectively
entering into collaborations for its novel target candidates and
drug product candidates at various stages of research and
development under revenue-sharing agreements. The Company is
headquartered in Israel, with
R&D facilities in Israel and
South San Francisco. At the US facilities, monoclonal antibody
therapeutic candidates are discovered and developed against the
Company's novel target candidates. For additional information,
please visit Compugen's corporate website at
http://www.cgen.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
terminology such as "will," "may," "expects," "anticipates,"
"believes," "potential," and "intends," and describe opinions about
possible future events. These forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of Compugen to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Among
these risks: Compugen's business model is substantially dependent
on entering into collaboration agreements with third parties, and
Compugen may not be successful in generating adequate revenues or
commercializing aspects of its business model. Moreover, the
development and commercialization of therapeutic candidates involve
many inherent risks, including failure to progress to clinical
trials or, if they progress to or enter clinical trials, failure to
receive regulatory approval. These and other factors are more fully
discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Compugen's most recent
Annual Report on Form 20-F as filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as other documents that may be
subsequently filed by Compugen from time to time with the SEC. In
addition, any forward-looking statements represent Compugen's views
only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon
as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Compugen does
not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements
unless required by law.
Company contact:
Susanna Chau
Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Compugen
Email: susannac@cgen.com
Tel: +1 (650) 263-7001
COMPUGEN
LTD.
|
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
|
(U.S. dollars in
thousands, except for share and per-share amounts)
|
|
|
Three Months
Ended
|
|
Year
Ended
|
|
December
31,
|
|
December
31,
|
|
2016
|
|
2015
|
|
2016
|
|
2015
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
|
53
|
|
8,313
|
|
712
|
|
9,277
|
Cost of
revenues
|
35
|
|
1,036
|
|
223
|
|
1,633
|
Gross
profit
|
18
|
|
7,277
|
|
489
|
|
7,644
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
expenses
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Research and
development expenses, net
|
6,308
|
|
5,801
|
|
24,549
|
|
21,245
|
Marketing and
business development expenses
|
433
|
|
564
|
|
1,174
|
|
1,309
|
General and
administrative expenses
|
2,014
|
|
1,639
|
|
7,349
|
|
6,008
|
Total operating
expenses
|
8,755
|
|
8,004
|
|
33,072
|
|
28,562
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
loss
|
(8,737)
|
|
(727)
|
|
(32,583)
|
|
(20,918)
|
Financing and other
income, net
|
245
|
|
645
|
|
1,097
|
|
1,145
|
Net loss before
taxes
|
(8,492)
|
|
(82)
|
|
(31,486)
|
|
(19,773)
|
Taxes on
income
|
-
|
|
390
|
|
20
|
|
390
|
Net
loss
|
(8,492)
|
|
(472)
|
|
(31,506)
|
|
(20,163)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic and diluted net
loss per ordinary share
|
(0.17)
|
|
(0.01)
|
|
(0.62)
|
|
(0.40)
|
Weighted average
number of ordinary shares
used in computing basic and diluted net loss
per share
|
51,044,938
|
|
50,526,584
|
|
50,855,908
|
|
50,437,040
|
COMPUGEN
LTD.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS DATA
(U.S. dollars, in
thousands)
|
|
|
December
31,
|
|
2016
|
|
2015
|
ASSETS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
assets
|
|
|
|
Cash, cash
equivalents, short-term bank deposits and restricted
cash
|
61,527
|
|
81,421
|
Investment in
marketable securities
|
-
|
|
426
|
Trade
receivable
|
-
|
|
7,800
|
Other accounts
receivable and prepaid expenses
|
1,153
|
|
1,352
|
Total current
assets
|
62,680
|
|
90,999
|
|
|
|
|
Non-current
assets
|
|
|
|
Long-term prepaid
expenses
|
92
|
|
101
|
Severance pay
fund
|
2,402
|
|
2,179
|
Property and
equipment, net
|
5,965
|
|
6,028
|
Total non-current
assets
|
8,459
|
|
8,308
|
|
|
|
|
Total
assets
|
71,139
|
|
99,307
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LIABILITIES AND
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
liabilities
|
|
|
|
Other account
payables, accrued expenses and trade payables
|
4,740
|
|
6,542
|
Deferred
revenues
|
-
|
|
312
|
Total current
liabilities
|
4,740
|
|
6,854
|
|
|
|
|
Non-current
liabilities
|
|
|
|
Accrued severance
pay
|
2,880
|
|
2,556
|
Total non-current
liabilities
|
2,880
|
|
2,556
|
|
|
|
|
Total
shareholders' equity
|
63,519
|
|
89,897
|
Total liabilities
and shareholders' equity
|
71,139
|
|
99,307
|
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/compugen-reports-fourth-quarter-and-calendar-year-2016-results-300407847.html
SOURCE Compugen Ltd.