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"During the quarter, we continued to focus on advancing our antibody drugsefficiently and rapidly towards human clinical trials. Most significantly, wecompleted our pre-IND meeting with the US FDA for our lead CD44 Cancer StemProgram," said Dr. David Young, President and CEO of ARIUS. "We also presentednew findings from our lead programs, including data from our CD9 Cancer StemCell program in collaboration with Dr. John Dick, a pioneer in the cancer stemcell field. Maintaining this momentum, five ARIUS abstracts have been selectedfor presentation in the upcoming AACR Annual meeting this month, demonstratingthe scientific community's ongoing interest in our programs and the highquality of our research."
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For the three-month period ended February 29, 2008, the Company recorded anet loss of $2,584,081 ($0.06 per share) compared to a net loss of $2,306,695($0.05 per share) for the three-month period ended February 28, 2007. Theincrease in net loss was primarily the result of higher research anddevelopment, general administrative and foreign exchange expenses, partiallyoffset by higher revenues.
For the three-month period ended February 29, 2008, the Company's revenueincreased to $1,047,294 compared with $108,454 for the same period in fiscal2007. The increase was primarily the result of the recognition of product andresearch contract revenue from the Takeda collaboration.
Interest income decreased to $106,792 for the three-month period endedFebruary 29, 2008, compared with $199,923 for the same period in fiscal 2007.The decrease was primarily the result of lower average cash and investmentbalances.
Research and development costs increased to $2,595,906 for the three-monthperiod ended February 29, 2008, compared to $1,957,328 for the same period infiscal 2007. The increase was primarily the result of an increase in staffinglevels related to an overall increase in activity as the Company is preparingthree products for the clinic, accompanied by increased patent and licensingactivity.
General and administrative expenses increased to $1,021,281 for thethree-month period ended February 29, 2008, compared to $674,336 for the sameperiod in fiscal 2007. The increase was primarily the result of an increase instaffing levels, consulting fees and legal expenses.
As at February 29, 2008, ARIUS' cash and cash equivalents, short-terminvestments and net working capital position were $9,760,273, $1,299,844 and$8,245,154, respectively, compared with November 30, 2007 balances of$5,635,365, $6,825,190 and $9,088,712, respectively. The Company currentlybelieves that it has adequate financial resources to continue into the fourthquarter of fiscal 2008 based on planned research and development expendituresand operating costs.
About ARIUS
ARIUS is a biotechnology company discovering and developing the next waveof antibody therapeutics. Established in 1999, ARIUS has built a proprietarytechnology platform, FunctionFIRST(TM), that rapidly identifies and selectsantibodies based on their functional ability to affect disease. This antibodygeneration engine has enabled ARIUS to assemble a portfolio of more than 500antibody candidates. In addition to the antibodies it is developing in-house,ARIUS has ongoing partnerships with key biotechnology and drug developmentcompanies. ARIUS is listed on the TSX under the symbol "ARI". For furtherinformation, visit www.ariusmabs.comProgram Updates: CD44 Cancer Stem Cell Program - Selected to present two CD44-focused posters at AACR the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual
