EXHIBIT 99.1
Antigenics Reports Third Quarter 2007 Financial Results
Conference Call to Follow
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 2007--Antigenics Inc. (NASDAQ:
AGEN) reported results today for the quarter ended September 30, 2007.
The company incurred a net loss attributable to common stockholders of
$11.5 million, or $0.25 per share, basic and diluted, for the third
quarter of 2007, compared with a net loss attributable to common
stockholders in the third quarter of 2006 of $11.2 million, or $0.24
per share, basic and diluted. For the nine months ended September 30,
2007, Antigenics incurred a net loss attributable to common
stockholders of $30.4 million, or $0.66 per share, basic and diluted,
compared with a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $40.9
million, or $0.89 per share, basic and diluted, for the comparable
period in 2006.
The company's net cash burn (cash used in operating activities
plus capital expenditures, debt repayments and dividend payments) for
the nine months ended September 30, 2007, and 2006, were $21.1 million
and $40.5 million, respectively. Antigenics recognized revenues for
the nine-month period ended September 30, 2007, of $4.7 million
compared with $372,000 for the comparable period in 2006. The 2007
results reflect, among other things, the company's control of costs to
maintain a low rate of cash burn, and the advancement by Antigenics'
licensees of clinical development of vaccines containing Antigenics'
QS-21 adjuvant. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments
amounted to $24.9 million as of September 30, 2007.
"We continue to focus on the regulatory approval and
commercialization of Oncophage in Russia and Europe," said Garo H.
Armen, PhD, chairman and CEO of Antigenics. "The opinions we have
received from a number of the world's leading experts have provided
the basis for seeking approval of Oncophage in these regions utilizing
the results of our Phase 3 renal cell carcinoma trial. Meanwhile, our
licensees are advancing more than 20 vaccines containing QS-21, with
16 products in Phase 1 through Phase 3 development. QS-21 continues to
be profitable, with more than $5 million in upfront and milestone
payments received this year to date."
Corporate Update
Oncophage(R) (vitespen)
-- Since the completion of data analysis of Antigenics' Phase 3
study of Oncophage in nonmetastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC,
the most common type of kidney cancer) as of the March 2007
cutoff, the company has met with numerous leading oncologists
and urologists from Europe, Russia and the United States,
including experts with substantial regulatory experience in
Europe and Russia. Based on their input, Antigenics is
continuing to execute registration strategies in both Europe
and Russia.
-- To prepare for potential product approval in Russia,
Antigenics has initiated prelaunch activities, including
choosing distributors and identifying sources of
reimbursement. These activities are intended to assist in the
company's efforts to promptly launch Oncophage and to secure
reimbursement upon finalization of the approval process.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer,
there were approximately 16,329 new cases of kidney cancer in
Russia in 2004, of which Antigenics estimates approximately
one third meet the intermediate-risk profile.
-- Antigenics plans to request a formal meeting with the European
Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) to
discuss the potential filing of Oncophage in Europe for
conditional approval. Conditional approval, a two-year-old
provision, would allow commercialization of a product with
postapproval commitments that include annual regulatory
evaluation until these commitments are fulfilled.
-- In September, Oncophage was named by Windhover Information as
one of the top 10 licensable projects in the oncology
therapeutic area. The criteria for choosing the projects were:
large market, large unmet need, with increasing opportunity;
history of the molecule and drug; strong science; strong
company; diversity of indications; potential for new
opportunities beyond initial indications; and multilevel
partnering opportunities.
-- Investigators from the Phase 3 trial of Oncophage in RCC
presented data from the study at the Russian Onco-Urologist
Society Meeting on October 4 in Moscow, and will also present
the data at the European Multidisciplinary Meeting on
Urological Cancers (EMUC) Meeting in Barcelona on November 4.
-- Antigenics expects to submit the Phase 3 RCC data for
publication in a peer-reviewed journal before the end of 2007.
-- In October, updated data from the Phase 1/2 study of Oncophage
in recurrent, high-grade glioma were presented at the
AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets
and Cancer Therapeutics. The data indicate that 11 out of 12
patients exceeded the historical median benchmark of 6.5
months survival from time of recurrence and that all 12
patients demonstrated a significant immune response after
vaccination.
-- Enrollment has begun in the Phase 2 portion of the glioma
study, which is designed to enroll approximately 30 patients
with recurrent high-grade glioma. The endpoints are overall
survival and immune response to therapy. The study is being
conducted at the Brain Tumor Research Center at the University
of California, San Francisco, and is being funded through
grants from the American Brain Tumor Association and the
National Cancer Institute Special Programs of Research
Excellence.
QS-21 Stimulon(R) Adjuvant
-- The pipeline of QS-21-containing products in development
continues to advance toward commercialization. Currently there
are 2 Phase 3, 10 Phase 2 and 4 Phase 1 products in clinical
development by Antigenics' licensees. Over the course of the
last 12 months, there have been clinical advancements with key
QS-21-containing vaccines, including the previously announced
initiation of a Phase 3 trial of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK)
MAGE-A3 Antigen-Specific Cancer Immunotherapeutic in non-small
cell lung cancer and a Phase 2 study of Elan's Alzheimer's
disease vaccine.
-- Data from a recently published Phase 1/2 study in 214 African
infants indicate that GSK's QS-21-containing RTS,S/AS02
malaria vaccine has a promising safety and tolerability
profile, and reduces malaria parasite infection and clinical
illness due to malaria.
-- The Phase 1 study evaluating Acambis' ACAM-FLU-A(TM) universal
influenza vaccine, which contains QS-21, is on track for data
analysis around the end of 2007.
-- QS-21 continues to be profitable, having generated more than
$5 million in upfront and milestone payments this year.
Antigenics supplies the product to licensees on a cost-plus
basis, and licensees fund their own vaccine development
programs.
Corporate
-- In September, the company received gross proceeds of $5
million from the sale of equity to Fletcher International Ltd.
Approximately 1.6 million shares of common stock were issued
at a price of $3.08 per share. Additionally, 15,250 shares of
convertible preferred stock were issued to Fletcher as part of
the sale. Fletcher has the option to invest up to an
additional $15.25 million in connection with the conversion of
its preferred stock into common stock.
Conference Call Information
Antigenics executives will host a conference call at 11:00 a.m. ET
today. To access the live call, dial 888.271.9082 (domestic) or
706.679.7741 (international); the access code is 19740931. The call
will also be webcast and will be accessible from the company's website
at www.antigenics.com/webcast/. A replay will be available
approximately two hours after the call through midnight ET on November
15, 2007. The replay number is 800.642.1687 (domestic) or 706.645.9291
(international), and the access code is 19740931. The replay will also
be available on the company's website approximately two hours after
the live call.
About Antigenics
Antigenics (NASDAQ: AGEN) is a biotechnology company working to
develop treatments for cancers and infectious diseases. The company's
investigational product portfolio includes Oncophage(R) (vitespen), a
patient-specific therapeutic cancer vaccine being evaluated in several
indications; Aroplatin(TM) (L-NDDP), a liposomal, third-generation
platinum chemotherapeutic; AG-707, a therapeutic vaccine for the
treatment of genital herpes; and QS-21, an adjuvant used in numerous
vaccines under development by Antigenics' collaborative partners. For
more information, please visit www.antigenics.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including,
but not limited to, statements regarding the potential clinical
benefit of Oncophage in kidney cancer based on a subgroup analysis;
activities and potential strategies for pursuing marketing
registration for Oncophage and the potential for marketing approval or
conditional approval of Oncophage in certain jurisdictions such as
Russia and Europe; the presentation and publication of data; present
and future clinical trials and related enrollment expectations; the
advancement of products using QS-21 by Antigenics' licensees; and the
profitability of QS-21 to the company. These forward-looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties
include, among others, decisions by regulatory authorities and the
potential that the opinions of regulatory authorities may differ from
those of the experts with whom the company has consulted; the
inability to secure local distributors or reimbursement mechanisms in
any jurisdiction in which Antigenics may obtain product approval; the
ability to raise capital and finance future development of Oncophage;
Antigenics' dependence on its collaborative partners such as GSK to
successfully develop and commercialize products containing QS-21; the
scientific risk associated with the development of vaccines; the
competitive risk that other sources of competitive adjuvants could
become available; difficulties and delays in manufacturing QS-21; and
the factors described under Risk Factors of Antigenics' Form 10-Q as
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2007.
Antigenics cautions investors not to place considerable reliance on
the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. These
statements speak only as of the date of this document, and Antigenics
undertakes no obligation to update or revise the statements. All
forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety
by this cautionary statement. Antigenics' business is subject to
substantial risks and uncertainties, including those identified above.
When evaluating Antigenics' business and securities, investors should
give careful consideration to these risks and uncertainties.
Summary Condensed Consolidated Financial Information
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations Data
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
Three months ended Nine months ended
September 30, September 30,
2007 2006 2007 2006
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Revenue $ 863 $ 216 $ 4,659 $ 372
Operating expenses:
Research and development 6,133 6,252 18,146 22,628
General and administrative 4,580 4,740 13,311 16,023
Restructuring costs - - - 1,374
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Operating loss (9,850) (10,776) (26,798) (39,653)
Other expense, net (936) (245) (2,537) (691)
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Net loss (10,786) (11,021) (29,335) (40,344)
Dividends on convertible
preferred stock (673) (198) (1,068) (593)
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Net loss attributable to
common stockholders $(11,459) $(11,219) $(30,403) $(40,937)
========= ========= ========= =========
Per common share data, basic
and diluted:
Net loss attributable to
common stockholders $ (0.25) $ (0.24) $ (0.66) $ (0.89)
Weighted average number of
common shares outstanding,
basic and diluted 46,430 45,848 46,126 45,789
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet Data
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
September December
30, 2007 31, 2006
--------- ---------
Cash, cash equivalents, and
short-term investments $ 24,864 $ 40,095
Total assets 52,636 72,952
Total stockholders' deficit (39,496) (17,393)
CONTACT: Antigenics Inc.
Investor Relations:
Robert Anstey, 800-962-2436
ir@antigenics.com
or
Corporate Communications:
Sunny Uberoi, 212-994-8206
suberoi@antigenics.com