Vertex Pharmaceuticals reports third quarter 2001 financial resultsNew York 25 October 2001 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated reported consolidated financial results today for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2001. Vertex also installed a new supercomputer cluster, one of the most powerful in the world dedicated to in silico drug design applications. The new cluster represents a key component of the technology infrastructure that is expected to accelerate productivity in Vertex's gene family-based drug discovery research.
Results for all periods presented include the acquisition of Aurora Biosciences, completed in July 2001, which was accounted for as a pooling of interests.
For the three months ending September 30, 2001, the company's net loss,before merger related costs and non-recurring charges and gains, was $13,478,000, or $0.18 per basic and diluted share, compared to a net loss, before merger related costs and non-recurring charges and gains, of $5,849,000, or $0.09 per basic and diluted share, for the same period last year. Total revenues for the third quarter of 2001 were $40,368,000, as compared to $36,850,000 for the third quarter of 2000. Total costs and expenses, before merger related costs and non-recurring charges and gains, for the third quarter of 2001 were $53,846,000 versus total costs and expenses, before merger related costs and non-recurring charges and gains, of $42,699,000 for the third quarter of 2000. As of September 30, 2001, Vertex had approximately $730,327,000 in cash, cash equivalents and available forsale securities.
Vertex's financial results fluctuate from quarter to quarter based on the timing of royalty revenue, collaborative revenue, and external research and development expenses. "During the third quarter of 2001, Vertex strengthened its senior management team with several key appointments, and we continued to make progress with our drug discovery and development programmes", said Joshua Boger, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
"In addition, the completion of Vertex's acquisition of Aurora Biosciences allows us to utilise Aurora's strength in cell biology as we move forward to develop novel drugs that treat areas of large medical needs. With our strong cash position and more than 25 collaborations with pharmaceutical and life science partners, we look forward to the advancement of our pipeline and the addition of new drug candidates into development in the months ahead."
Vertex completed its acquisition of Aurora Biosciences during the quarter. The merger unites Aurora's industry-leading assay development, screening and cell biology capabilities with Vertex's integrated drug discovery expertise. The combination of Vertex's and Aurora's technology and expertise is expected to increase the flow of novel drug candidates into development and accelerate the expansion of the company's broad intellectual property estate.
Vertex also installed a new supercomputer cluster, one of the most powerful in the world dedicated to in silico drug design applications. The new cluster represents a key component of the technology infrastructure that is expected to accelerate productivity in Vertex's gene family-based drug discovery research.
The company entered into a collaboration with Array BioPharma in September to discover and develop small molecule drugs directed at two specific targets in the phosphatase protein family. This collaboration enables Vertex to explore the applicability of parallel drug design in the phosphatase gene family, a family of proteins that are believed to contain numerous specific targets that are suitable for small molecule drug design.
Vertex also entered into several agreements during the quarter to access specialised technologies that will enhance and broaden Vertex's drug discovery activities, such as an agreement with Cellomics for its ArrayScan HCS System, which provides reliable insight into the efficacy and toxicity of drug candidates, and an agreement with Consensus Pharmaceuticals to gain information on protease targets.
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