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05 August 2004
Auckland, New Zealand, 5th August 2004 – Genesis Research and Development Corporation Ltd (NZX/ASX: GEN) ended the six-month period to 30 June 2004 with a cash balance of $16.5 million (30 June 2003: $28.6 million). This position is in line with budget and is expected to be sufficient to fund current and planned research and development programmes for a number of years. For a Consolidated Financial Statement from Ernst & Young, download the pdf file. Revenue from collaborations, licence fees and interest for the six months to 30 June 2004 was $2.8 million (2003: $5.8 million). The decline was due to the completion of certain research collaborations and a reduction in licence fees as a result of completed programmes. Overall expenditure reduced to $9.8 million (2003: $12.3 million). The resulting net deficit for the period of $7.1 million (2003 deficit: $6.6 million) reflects a continuing commitment to investment in the Phase II trials in atopic dermatitis and wholly owned research and development programmes not funded by income from collaborations. Reviewing performance, Genesis Chief Executive, Dr Jim Watson, said, “We are continuing discussions with a number of parties interested in acquiring licences to some of our programmes, and resulting revenues will further extend the cash security of the business. The Genesis Health programmes continue to make good progress.” The programme to raise capital in AgriGenesis has not yet been successful so in July 2004 Genesis announced the termination of 29 staff positions. This will result in a significant reduction in the cash investment in research in the plant business. AgriGenesis is focusing on commercial objectives aligned with identified potential customers. Genesis now holds 89 issued patents. The US Patent and Trademark Office has allowed claims for 43 of these, and the rest are from a number of other countries, including 17 from New Zealand. There are 45 applications pending in the US, and more than 212 pending in other countries. About Genesis Founded in 1994, Genesis is a New Zealand-based biotechnology company with over 80 staff in the group. It has built a broad genomic platform and has multiple product candidates in development targeting immune disorders and cancer. These are backed by an extensive patent portfolio. Genesis has a potential product in a Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (eczema) with additional programmes for cancer in pre-clinical development. Collaborations are maintained with Amgen Inc. (Nasdaq:AMGN), Corixa Corporation (Nasdaq:CRXA), SR Pharma plc (LSE:SPA), Jurox Pty Ltd, EvoGenix Pty Ltd, CSL Australia and AgResearch. AgriGenesis Biosciences Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Genesis that is focused on using key plant cell signalling genes – novel hormones and transcription factors – that control such commercial traits as growth rates, wood fibre quality, biomass development and flowering control. It has developed comprehensive plant EST databases including the world’s largest EST database for commercial forestry species and has commercial collaborations with ArborGen LLC, Wrightson (NZX: WRI) and HortResearch. For more information, please visit www.genesis.co.nz and www.agrigenesis.co.nz Media contacts: Dr J Watson, Chief Executive, Genesis Research and Development Corporation Limited, +64 9 373 5600 Allan Botica, Botica Butler Raudon, +64 9 303 3862, +64 21 400 500, allanb@botica.co.nz |