Half Year Report - Progen on Track to Meet Milestones
27 Febrero 2004 - 5:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Half Year Report - Progen on Track to Meet Milestones Further
Encouragement for PI-88 from Avastin's Approval BRISBANE,
Australia, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Progen Industries
Limited , a progressive Australian drug development company,
todayannounced its half year financial results to December 31st,
2003 and said the company is on track to meet its objectives for
2004. Progen's operating loss for the half-year ending 31 December
2003 was $1,895,201. "This is a good result when compared to the
loss of $4,213,824 in 2002," Progen's Chief Financial Officer,
Milton McColl commented. "This was largely attributable to the
profit, $929,999 made from the divesture of the Life Sciences
business unit, a transaction that enabled Progen to sharpenits
cancer drug development focus. In addition, the result was due to
Medigen Biotechnology Corporation's profit of $183,910 when equity
accounted. This was caused by the increase in Medigen's revenues
and an increase in the share price of their investment." The
following schedule summarises the results for the half-year ending
31 December 2003. 2003 2002 $'000 $'000 Revenue from commercial
services sales 2,470 2,326 Revenue from other operating activities
705 705 Revenue from sale of discontinued operation 1,175 -- Total
Revenue 4,350 3,031 Operating profit (loss) before research and
development (76) (503) Research and development expenditure (2,003)
(2,824) Operating profit (loss) after research and development
(2,079) (3,327) Share of equity profit (loss) in associate entity
184 (887) Operating loss (1,895) (4,214) Net Tangible Assets 17,767
14,399 Net Assets per share (cents) 52.0 59.0 Cash on hand 14,974
8,348 Today also marks an important milestone in Progen's field of
research. Genentech, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Avastin(TM) (bevacizumab), a
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) inhibitor, to be used in
combination with chemotherapy as a treatment for patients with
metastatic cancer of the colon or rectum. StephenChang, Progen's
Chairman commented, "This is outstanding progress for the
anti-angiogenesis research area and helps build our confidence in
our Phase II compound, PI-88. PI-88 is small-molecule-based and
rather than relying on a single mode of action to induce an
anticancer response, it inhibits blood vessel growth, or
angiogenesis via multiple growth factors including Fibroblast
Growth Factors (FGFs) and VEGF, as well as inhibiting other
angiogenic agents, including heparanase." Bolstered by this
positive announcement in the angiogenesis research area, the main
focus for the company in the calendar year 2004 will be to continue
to develop a robust clinical dataset for the lead anti-cancer
compound PI-88 and continue the ongoing partnering initiative.
Stephen Chang, commented, "In the past six months PI-88 has
certainly moved forward its clinical development. Signs of efficacy
and a good safety profile have emerged from the clinical program
with some patients continuing to receive PI-88 for periods lasting
up to 30 months. Two new Phase II trials have commenced just
recently for patients with advanced melanoma and non-small cell
lung cancer, respectively, and our centers are actively recruiting
patients across Australia and the US. We are veryexcited by the
next 12 months and beyond." DATASOURCE: Progen Industries CONTACT:
Sarah Meibusch of Progen Industries, +61-7-3273-9100, or
Copyright