Full Press Release Details
Reports Second Quarter 2009 Financial Results and Provides Pipeline
Conference call to be held today at 9:00 am EDT --
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 30, 2009--Curis, Inc.
(NASDAQ:CRIS), a drug development company seeking to develop proprietary
targeted medicines for cancer treatment, today reported its financial
results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009.
"Curis has made important progress over the last quarter, including the
continued dosing of patients in our ongoing Phase I clinical trial of
CUDC-101, our first-in class HDAC/EGFR/Her2 inhibitor, and the issuance
of a key U.S. patent related to this molecule," said Dan Passeri, Curis'
President and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition, our scientists
published data in Clinical Cancer Research and delivered two
presentations at the American Association of Cancer Research 2009
meeting regarding CUDC-305, our Hsp90 inhibitor. We believe that these
events further validate the quality of our research and development team
and the underlying science of our targeted cancer programs. We are
continuing to work diligently to secure a corporate partner for the
further advancement of CUDC-305 and to consummate such a transaction in
For the second quarter of 2009, Curis reported a net loss of $4.2
million or ($0.07) per share, as compared to a net loss of $2.0 million
or ($0.03) per share for the same period in 2008.
Revenues for the second quarter of 2009 were $100,000 as compared to
$3.1 million for the same period in 2008. The decrease in revenue from
the prior year period was due to Curis' recognition of $3.0 million in
license revenues during the second quarter of 2008 from the achievement
of a clinical development objective under Curis' Hedgehog Pathway
Inhibitor collaboration with Genentech.
Operating expenses for the second quarter of 2009 were $4.3 million as
compared to $5.3 million for the same period in 2008.
Research and development spending was $2.3 million for the second
quarter of 2009 as compared to $3.2 million for the same period in
2008. The decrease is attributable to lower spending on Curis'
targeted cancer programs in connection with its implementation in the
fourth quarter of 2008 of a plan to decrease spending in various
research and development expense areas, particularly costs associated
with preclinical research.
General and administrative spending was $2.0 million for the second
quarter of 2009 as compared to $2.1 million for the same period in
2008. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was
primarily due to decreases in personnel and consulting costs as well
as a decline in stock-based compensation expense. Offsetting these
decreases, legal expenses increased due to costs associated with
patent applications for Curis' targeted cancer programs and other
For the six-month period ending June 30, 2009, Curis reported a net loss
of $3.1 million or ($0.05) per share, as compared to a net loss of $5.4
million or ($0.09) per share for the same period in the prior year.
Revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2009, were $6.1 million as
compared to $5.2 million for the same period in 2008.
Operating expenses were $9.3 million for the six months ended June 30,
2009, as compared to $11.2 million for the same period in 2008. Research
and development expenses were $5.2 million for the six months ended June
30, 2009, as compared to $6.7 million for the same period in 2008.
General and administrative expenses were $4.1 million for the six months
ended June 30, 2009, as compared to $4.5 million for the same period in
As of June 30, 2009, Curis' cash, cash equivalents and marketable
securities totaled $26.8 million, and there were 63.8 million shares of
common stock outstanding.
"We estimate that our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities
as of June 30,, 2009, when combined with our receipt in July
2009 of $2.7 million in proceeds from the exercise of warrants to
purchase shares of our common stock, provide us with sufficient capital
to fund our planned operations into the fourth quarter of 2010," said
Michael Gray, Curis' Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer. "One
of our principal objectives in seeking to license CUDC-305 is to extend
our cash position well into 2011, affording us the opportunity to
further develop CUDC-101 and other targeted inhibitors in our pipeline.
In addition, we expect important data during the second half of 2010
from our collaborator Genentech's ongoing Phase II clinical trials of
GDC-0449, a Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitor. If we are successful in our
CUDC-305 licensing efforts, our cash runway should be adequate for us to
benefit from any positive data stemming from these clinical trials,
while also affording us the opportunity to receive potential future
milestone payments on Genentech's continued progression of this
Mr. Gray continued, "In addition, we were pleased to be added to the
Russell 2000 and 3000 indexes at the end of June and believe that Curis'
addition to these indexes demonstrates the important progress that we
have made over the past year."
Curis expects to complete the dose escalation portion of its ongoing
CUDC-101 Phase I clinical trial during the second half of 2009 and also
intends to subsequently expand the Phase I clinical trial to test
CUDC-101 in specific tumor types including non-small cell lung, breast,
colon and pancreatic cancers.
In addition, the Company announced recent progress with GDC-0449, a
first-in-class Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitor that is under development by
Curis' collaborator Genentech, a wholly owned member of the Roche Group.
Genentech is currently conducting three ongoing clinical trials of
GDC-0449, including a pivotal Phase II trial in advanced basal cell
carcinoma, or BCC, that was initiated in February 2009 and Phase II
clinical trials in metastatic colorectal cancer and in advanced ovarian
cancer that were initiated in 2008. Genentech completed patient
enrollment in the Phase II metastatic colorectal cancer trial in the
second quarter of 2009.
In July, Roche provided an update in which it stated that GDC-0449 was
one of 10 new molecular entities that are currently enrolling patients
in registrational studies within Roche. Pending a successful outcome of
the ongoing pivotal study, Roche projects that regulatory submissions
for GDC-0449 in advanced basal cell carcinoma could occur in 2011.
Second Quarter and Recent Highlights
-- Received $2.7 million upon Warrant Exercises
In July 2009, Curis received proceeds of $2.7 million upon the exercise