Celldex Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2009 Financial Results - Management to Host Conference Call to Discuss Results and Provide 2010 Outlook Today, Thursday, March 4, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time - NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUS

Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2009 Financial Results

Management to Host Conference Call to Discuss Results and Provide 2010

Outlook Today, Thursday, March 4, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time -

NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 2010--Celldex Therapeutics,

Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDX) today reported financial results for the fourth

quarter and year ended December 31, 2009. Celldex reported a net loss of

$13.5 million, or $0.43 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2009

compared to a net loss of $7.5 million, or $0.47 per share, for the

fourth quarter of 2008. The net loss for the fourth quarter of 2009

included one-time expenses of $4.8 million, or $0.15 per share, incurred

in connection with the acquisition of CuraGen Corporation ("CuraGen").

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2009, Celldex reported a net

loss of $37.1 million, or $1.87 per share, compared to a net loss of

$47.5 million, or $3.34 per share, for the twelve months ended December

31, 2008. The net loss for 2009 included one-time expenses of $7.1

million, or $0.36 per share, sustained as a result of the CuraGen

acquisition. At December 31, 2009, Celldex reported cash, cash

equivalents and marketable securities of $82.5 million, which the

Company believes will be sufficient to meet estimated working capital

requirements and fund operations into 2012.

"In 2009, Celldex leveraged the power of our Precision Targeted

Immunotherapy Platform to expand and advance a promising pipeline of

clinical-stage therapeutic programs, and it is gratifying to see this

effort yield meaningful progress in the development of novel treatments

for patients. In addition, we enhanced our cash position and thereby,

strengthened the capital structure of the Company," said Anthony S.

Marucci, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We begin 2010 with four

product candidates in clinical development and a fifth positioned to

enter clinical studies later this year. These programs will drive a

number of potential value enhancing key events over the course of the

year and we look forward to updating shareholders on our continued

progress and overall strategic initiatives."

Fourth Quarter and Recent Highlights

Completed the acquisition of CuraGen, which enhanced our pipeline of

oncology-focused antibodies and increased our cash balance by

approximately $70.3 million ($57.8 million net of CuraGen's

convertible debt of $12.5 million).

Announced positive results from a Phase 1/2 study of CDX-011(formerly

CR011-vcMMAE), in patients with heavily pre-treated, locally advanced

or metastatic breast cancers. As presented at the 32nd Annual

CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December 2009, the

primary efficacy endpoint for the study was met with significant

antitumor activity in patients whose tumors express the target GPNMB.

In addition, encouraging results were seen in patients with

"triple-negative disease" where treatment options are relatively

limited due to lack of hormone receptor or HER2-neu expression.

CDX-011 utilizes fully human monoclonal antibodies to deliver the

potent cellular toxin, MMAE, directly to tumor cells by targeting

GPNMB. GPNMB is a glycoprotein associated with cancer progression and

Received a sublicense income payment of $3 million in February 2010

from TopoTarget A/S (NASDAQ-OMX: TOPO.CO) as a result of the recent

co-development and commercialization agreement between TopoTarget and

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPPI) for Belinostat, a novel

histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor for the treatment of cancer.

Continued to advance, in partnership with Pfizer, the development of

lead candidate CDX-110 in Phase 2 studies in glioblastoma multiforme.

CDX-110 is an immunotherapy that targets the tumor specific molecule

called EGFRvIII, a functional variant of the epidermal growth factor

In 2010, we plan to:

Report final Phase 1/2 data from a clinical study of CDX-011 in

patients with advanced melanoma at the American Society of Clinical

Oncology (ASCO) conference in June.

Report additional results from the Phase 1 clinical study of CDX-1307

in patients with advanced epithelial cancers, including breast, colon

and pancreatic cancer at the ASCO conference in June.

Report preliminary data from the Phase 1/2 clinical study of CDX-1401

in patients with malignant solid tumors that express NY-ESO-1.

Initiate a randomized Phase 2b clinical study of CDX-1307 in

combination with immune modulators in patients with muscle-invasive

bladder cancer expressing hCG-beta.

Initiate an expanded Phase 2b clinical study of CDX-011 in patients

with GPNMB-expressing breast cancer including triple negative disease.

Further Financial Highlights

The net loss of $13.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2009 represents

an increase of $6.0 million when compared to the net loss for the same

period in 2008 and is primarily due to an increase in operating expense

as a result of the CuraGen acquisition, an increase in interest expense

and a decrease in investment income, partially offset by an increase in

revenue. R&D expense in the fourth quarter of 2009 increased by $2.0

million compared to R&D expense in 2008 due primarily to increased

personnel-related expenses and laboratory materials and services. G&A

expenses in the fourth quarter of 2009 increased by $3.5 million to $6.4

million as compared to $2.9 million in 2008, primarily due to an

increase in personnel-related expenses and professional services fees in

2009. G&A expenses for this quarter included approximately $3.8 million,

or $0.12 per share, of transaction, severance and integration expenses

recorded in connection with the CuraGen acquisition. The increase in

cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $56.5 million from

September 30, 2009 includes approximately $70.3 million received in

connection with the CuraGen acquisition, partially offset by fourth

quarter net loss of $13.5 million.

The net loss of $37.1 million for 2009 represents an improvement of

$10.4 million when compared to the net loss for the same period in 2008,

primarily due to the non-cash charge of $14.8 million for purchased

in-process R&D recorded in 2008. R&D expense in 2009 increased by $3.5

million compared to R&D expense in 2008. This was primarily a result of

combining operations of AVANT and Celldex for the full 2009 year and

CuraGen related R&D expense of $2.3 million in the fourth quarter 2009,

including severance expense of $0.9 million. R&D expenses included

increased personnel-related expenses, clinical trials costs related to