Full Press Release Details
Announces Third Quarter 2013 Financial Results and Recent Corporate
ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--November 12, 2013--BioTime, Inc. (NYSE
MKT: BTX), a biotechnology company that develops and markets products in
the field of regenerative medicine, today reported financial results for
the third quarter ended September 30, 2013 and highlighted recent
corporate accomplishments.
Third Quarter and Recent Corporate Accomplishments
BioTime's subsidiary, Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc., completed its
acquisition of Geron Corporation's stem cell assets, including patents
and other intellectual property, biological materials, reagents and
equipment for the development of new therapeutic products for
regenerative medicine. The contributed assets include four cell lines,
each with animal proof of concept, from which multiple therapeutic
product candidates may be selected by Asterias for development in the
fields of neurology, oncology, orthopedics, and cardiology.
BioTime initiated a clinical safety study of Renevia at The
Stem Center in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, a patient therapy center,
laboratory, and research facility located within the hospital Clinica
USP Palmaplanas in Palma. Examinations of the subjects after they
received Renevia injections have shown that Renevia
was well-tolerated by all subjects with no serious adverse events or
subject withdrawals. All enrolled subjects were released from the
study after the final four-week follow-up appointment. The clinical
report will be written pending a final check of the data.
BioTime subsidiary OncoCyte Corporation entered into a Sponsored
Research Agreement and a Material Transfer Agreement with The Wistar
Institute to collaboratively develop lung cancer diagnostic products.
OncoCyte scientists will analyze blood samples obtained from patients
in a Wistar clinical study to determine levels of tumor-associated
proteins found in the blood samples. The data obtained from the
samples received from Wistar's ongoing multi-center study may allow
OncoCyte to more rapidly develop a diagnostic test for lung cancer to
be marketed in the U.S. and other countries.
Asterias entered into a Non-Exclusive License Agreement with the
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation ("WARF") under which Asterias was
granted a worldwide non-exclusive license to use certain WARF patents
and WARF-owned embryonic stem cell lines in the development and
commercialization of therapeutic, diagnostic and research products.
BioTime commenced the development of two new products based on its HyStem
technology platform. The new products are unique formulations
utilizing some of the same cGMP components used in Renevia .
The first of these new products is ReGlyde , a cross-linked
thiol-modified hyaluronan hydrogel for the management and protection
of tendon injuries following surgical repair of the digital flexor or
extensor tendons of the hand. The second new product, Premvia ,
is a HyStem hydrogel formulation of
cross-linked thiol-modified hyaluronan and thiol-modified gelatin for
the management of wounds including partial and full-thickness wounds,
ulcers, tunneled/undermined wounds, surgical wounds, and burns.
BioTime entered into an Exclusive Sublicense Agreement with Jade
Therapeutics, Inc. permitting Jade to use BioTime's HyStem
hydrogel technology as an ophthalmic sustained-release drug delivery
platform for the delivery of therapeutic molecules to the human eye.
Excluded from the licensed field of use is the use of the HyStem
technology for use in making punctal plugs, for diagnostic and
research reagents, for the delivery of cells with or without any
molecules necessary for the therapeutic benefit of those cells, and
for non-human applications.
BioTime consolidated its research products business into a new ESI BIO
division, which will now be BioTime's primary developer, manufacturer
and distributor of its growing portfolio of stem cell based research
products. This new division includes BioTime's Singapore subsidiary ES
Cell International Pte Ltd. This consolidation will allow for a more
focused approach on the development, manufacture and marketing of
BioTime's research products portfolio. Jeffrey Janus, BioTime's Vice
President of Sales and Marketing, will manage ESI BIO and will take on
the added role as the Chief Executive Officer of ES Cell International
BioTime appointed Lesley Stolz, Ph.D. as Executive Vice President,
Corporate Development. Dr. Stolz will have primary responsibility for
interactions with both investors and corporate partners. Additionally,
she will focus on identifying and implementing strategic initiatives
for BioTime and its subsidiaries. Dr. Stolz has more than 18 years of
life science industry experience in corporate and business development.
Net loss attributable to BioTime for the third quarter of 2013 was $9.0
million or $0.16 per share, compared to a net loss of $5.0 million or
$0.10 per share for the same period in 2012. For the nine months ended
September 30, 2013, net loss attributable to BioTime was $24.3 million,
or $0.45 per share, compared to $15.4 million, or $0.31 per share for
the same period of 2012.
Total net revenue on a consolidated basis was $0.5 million and $2
million, respectively, for the three and nine months ended September 30,
2013, compared to $0.8 million and $2.4 million, respectively, for the
same periods in 2012. The decrease in revenues during the three and nine
month periods is primarily attributable to lower grant revenue due to
the completion of BioTime's research grant from the California Institute
for Regenerative Medicine in August 2012 and declining royalties on
sales of our blood plasma volume expander Hextend .
The decrease in revenue year-over-year during the nine month period was
partially offset by subscription and advertising revenues from our
subsidiary LifeMap Sciences, Inc.'s online database GeneCards
which LifeMap Sciences began marketing in May of 2012.
Total operating expenses for the third quarter of 2013 were $10.7
million, compared to $6.8 million for the same period in 2012. Research
and development expenses for the third quarter of 2013 were $6.4
million, compared to $4.5 million for same period in 2012. General and
administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2013 were $4.3 million,
compared to $2.2 million for same period in 2012.
Total operating expenses for the first nine months of 2013 were $28.7
million, compared to $20.4 million for the comparable period in 2012.
Research and development expenses for the first nine months of 2013 were