Celltech offers hope amongst the gloom
The UK's biggest biotechnology company, Celltech, increased its net profit before tax (excluding exceptional items and goodwill) by 76% to
The UK's biggest biotechnology company, Celltech, increased its net profit before tax (excluding exceptional items and goodwill) by 76% to £20.9m.
However, there were dark clouds on the horizon, and with Celltech beginning to implement of a number of initiatives designed to streamline its pharmaceuticals business and further strengthen its r&d capabilities, exceptional charges for the first half of 2003 totalled £18.8m.
It also announced that it is to abandon further trials of CDP571, a possible treatment for Crohn's disease, at a write-off cost of £7.5m, in light of the more attractive profile of CDP 870. CDP870 is Celltech's principal development drug and is in Phase III trials for rheumatoid arthritis and Phase II trials for Crohn's disease. It is expected to generate annual sales of $1bn, when it reaches the market in 2006, following successful development and commercialisation with Pfizer.
In parallel, the company says it continues to build long-term shareholder value through the accelerated development of its early stage pipeline, which includes four products scheduled to enter Phase I testing during 2003. CDP 791 (cancer) and CMC-544 (Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma) have recently entered Phase I trials, with CDP 484 and CDP 323 scheduled to enter Phase I trials during the second half of 2003. In addition, several new products are expected to enter preclinical development during the next 12 months.
Following the successful acquisition of Oxford GlycoSciences (OGS), its oncology and inherited storage disorder programmes will be retained, with integration activities due to be substantially completed by the end of 2003.
Dr Goran Ando, ceo, commented: 'Celltech has world-class scientific capabilities, with substantial opportunities to build a leading position in the treatment of immune and inflammatory disorders and a credible global presence in oncology. During the next few years we will substantially strengthen our development and commercialisation capabilities to ensure we fully capitalise on the value generated from our pipeline.
'I am delighted with the continued strong financial performance seen in the first half of 2003, which underpins our self-financing profile. Notwithstanding the recent disappointments in two of our partnered programmes, our pipeline continues to be strong and will enable us to create substantial long-term value for shareholders.'