Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Celldex nearly doubles Q3 net loss over 2007

By Mass High Tech Staff

Celldex Therapeutics Inc., a developer of vaccines and antibodies, has announced its third quarter earnings for 2008, which included a $7.7 million net loss — almost double the $4.1 million net loss reported for Q3 2007. The first nine months of 2008 also showed a comparably significant growth in net loss, with Celldex (Nasdaq: CLDX) reporting a $40 million net loss so far this year compared to a $10.8 million net loss for the first nine months in 2007.

The Needham company pointed to increased operating expenses leading up to the merger with Avant Immunotherapeutics Inc. as reason for the increase in net loss. Celldex officials said that the company’s current cashflow and $10 million milestone payment from Paul Capital Healthcare for GlaxoSmithKline’s U.S. launch of Rotarix should cover the operational expenses through 2010.

Celldex merged with Avant on October 1, originally agreed upon early in 2008 for an estimated $129.3 million in stock. The company also made former interim president and CEO Anthony Marucci the permanent president and CEO of Celldex. Former Avant CEO Una Ryan left her position after the merger.

In June, Avant licensed a vaccine for brain cancer to drug giant Pfizer Inc. for an initial sum of $40 million, the companies reported.

In 2007, before the merger, Celldex reported a net loss of $21.6 million on total revenue of $5.1 million.