OctoPlus N.V. ("OctoPlus" or "the Company") (Euronext: OCTO), today
publishes a business update for the first quarter of 2009.
Highlights
Financial
* Successful equity raising of ¤ 6 million with an
international consortium of investors completed in February
* Revenue growth well on track with guidance for the full
year of ¤ 19 million
* Continued positive cash flow from operations
Operational
* Contract development service contract signed with
Galapagos in February
* Seventh client signed drug delivery evaluation contract in
April
* Phase IIb clinical study with Locteron® commenced by
OctoPlus' licensee Biolex in April
Strategy
* Ongoing success for OctoPlus' new service-oriented
strategy with growing interest for drug delivery technology
evaluations
Outlook
* OctoPlus reiterates the expected 2009 revenues of
approximately ¤ 19 million
Simon Sturge, CEO of OctoPlus comments: "I am very happy to report
that the first quarter of 2009 was very successful for OctoPlus. With
our equity raising in February, the Company's cash position was
strengthened, and service revenues are also in line with our
expectations. In addition, since we changed our focus entirely to
service-based product development, we have been able to significantly
grow the number of projects in acquisition for the evaluation of our
drug delivery technology."
For further information, please contact:
Rianne Roukema, Corporate Communications: telephone number +31 (71)
524 1071, or send an e-mail to Investor Relations at IR@octoplus.nl.
About OctoPlus
OctoPlus is a product-oriented biopharmaceutical company committed to
the creation of improved pharmaceutical products that are based on
OctoPlus' proprietary drug delivery technologies and have fewer side
effects, improved patient convenience and a better efficacy/safety
balance than existing therapies. Rather than seeking to discover
novel drug candidates through early stage research activities,
OctoPlus focuses on the development of longer acting, controlled
release versions of known protein therapeutics, other drugs, and
vaccines on behalf of its clients.
The clinically most advanced product incorporating our technology is
Biolex Therapeutics' lead product Locteron, a controlled release
formulation of interferon alpha for the treatment of chronic
hepatitis C. Locteron is being manufactured for Biolex by OctoPlus
and is currently in Phase IIb clinical studies.
In addition, OctoPlus is a leading European provider of advanced drug
formulation and clinical scale manufacturing services to the
pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, with a focus on
difficult-to-formulate active pharmaceutical ingredients.
OctoPlus is listed on Euronext Amsterdam by NYSE Euronext under the
symbol OCTO. For more information about OctoPlus, please visit our
website www.octoplus.nl.
This document may contain certain forward-looking statements relating
to the business, financial performance and results of OctoPlus and
the industry in which it operates. These statements are based on
OctoPlus' current plans, estimates and projections, as well as its
expectations of external conditions and events. In particular the
words "expect", "anticipate", "predict", "estimate", "project",
"plan", "may", "should", "would", "will", "intend", "believe" and
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. We caution investors that a number of important factors,
and the inherent risks and uncertainties that such statements
involve, could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially
from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. In the event
of any inconsistency between an English version and a Dutch version
of this document, the English version will prevail over the Dutch
version.
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
