Exhibit
99.1
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NEWS
RELEASE
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Lorus Therapeutics
Reports Third Quarter Results for Fiscal Year 2009
TORONTO,
CANADA - April
13, 2009 - Lorus
Therapeutics Inc. (Lorus), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the
research and development of pharmaceutical products and technologies for the
management of cancer, today reported financial results for the three and nine
months ended February 28, 2009. Unless specified otherwise, all
amounts are in Canadian dollars.
FINANCIAL
RESULTS
Our loss from
operations for the three months ended February 28, 2009 decreased to $2.5
million ($0.01 per share) compared to $3.8 million ($0.02 per share) for the
three months ended February 29, 2008. Our loss from operations for the nine
months ended February 28, 2009 decreased to $7.4 million ($0.03 per share)
compared to $9.0 million ($0.04 per share) for the nine months ended February
29, 2008. During the nine months ended February 28, 2009 the Company recorded a
gain on sale of shares related to the Arrangement (described below) of $450
thousand, which resulted in a net loss and other comprehensive loss of $7.0
million ($0.03 per share). During the nine month period ended
February 28, 2008, the Company realized a gain on the sale of the shares related
to the Arrangement in the amount of $6.3 million resulting in net loss and other
comprehensive loss for the period of $2.7 million ($0.01 per
share).
The decrease in loss
from operations for the three months ended February 28, 2009 compared with the
same period last year is due primarily to reduced research and development
spending of $1.2 million, resulting from the completion of toxicity studies
ongoing in Q3 2008 and lower drug manufacturing costs as well as lower stock
based compensation costs of $106 thousand due to one time option grants in the
third quarter of 2008 compared with no grants in the third quarter of
2009.
The decrease in net
loss from operations for the nine months ended February 28, 2009 compared with
the same period last year is due primarily to lower research and development
costs of $1.3 million resulting from less spending on GLP-toxicity studies as
well as drug manufacturing costs, lower general and administrative costs of $119
thousand due to reduced legal costs as well as lower stock based compensation
costs of $182 thousand due to one time option grants in the third quarter of
2008 whereas there were no grants in the third quarter of 2009, and option
modification costs incurred in the second quarter of 2008 offset by lower
interest income of $217 thousand due to lower cash and investment balances and
lower prime rates of interest.
Research and
development expenses totaled $1.0 million in the three-month period ended
February 28, 2009 compared to $2.2 million during the same period last year and
decreased to $2.9 million from $4.3 million in the nine month period ended
February 28, 2009 as compared to the same period in fiscal
2008.
The decrease in
spending during the three months ended February 28, 2009 compared with the prior
year is due to GLP-toxicity studies for both our LOR-2040 bladder cancer and
LOR-253 small molecule programs that were ongoing in the third quarter of 2008
and are now completed. In addition during the third quarter of 2008
manufacturing of LOR-2040 was ongoing resulting in significant costs, in the
third quarter of 2009 manufacturing of LOR-253, our lead small molecule is
ongoing, however the manufacturing costs of LOR-253 are significantly less than
LOR-2040 contributing to the decrease in spending.
Research and
development costs for the nine-month period ending February 28, 2009 decreased
due to reduced spending on GLP-toxicity studies for both LOR-253 small molecule
and LOR-2040 bladder cancer programs which are now complete; lower clinical
spending due to some Virulizin related costs incurred in the prior year (all
further costs are now borne by our licensee) as well as lower manufacturing
costs for the reasons described above.
The Company utilized
cash of $1.8 million in our operating activities in three-month period ended
February 28, 2009 compared with $2.6 million during the same period in fiscal
2008 representing a reduction of 31%. The decrease is primarily a
result of a reduced net loss offset by lower accounts payable and accrued
liabilities balances in the current year. We utilized cash of $5.7
million for the nine months ended February 28, 2009 compared with $7.5 million
in the same period last year a decrease of 24%. The reduced use of
cash is the result of a lower net loss as well as a reduction in the change in
non-cash operating working capital as compared to the nine months ended February
29, 2008. At February 28, 2009, we had cash and cash equivalents and short-term
investments of $7.3 million compared to $9.4 million at May 31,
2008.
Management believes
that Lorus’ current level of cash and cash equivalents and short-term
investments, will be sufficient to execute Lorus’ current planned expenditures
for the next twelve months; however, the debt obligation is due in October 2009
and the Company currently does not have the cash and cash equivalents and short
term investments to satisfy this obligation. The Company is
pursuing strategies to address this obligation.
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Lorus
Therapeutics Inc.
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Interim
Consolidated Statements of Loss and Deficit
(unaudited)
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Three
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Three
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Nine
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Nine
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(amounts in
000's except for per common share data)
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months
ended
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months
ended
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months
ended
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months
ended
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(Canadian
dollars)
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Feb. 28,
2009
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Feb. 29,
2008
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Feb. 28,
2009
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Feb. 29,
2008
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REVENUE
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$ | 64 | $ | 3 | $ | 106 | $ | 30 | ||||||||
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EXPENSES
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Cost of
sales
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- | 1 | - | 2 | ||||||||||||
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Research and
development
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1,043 | 2,222 | 2,915 | 4,251 | ||||||||||||
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General and
administrative
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822 | 863 | 2,583 | 2,702 | ||||||||||||
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Stock-based
compensation
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111 | 217 | 347 | 529 | ||||||||||||
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Depreciation
and amortization of fixed assets
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55 | 81 | 141 | 240 | ||||||||||||
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Operating
expenses
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2,031 | 3,384 | 5,986 | 7,724 | ||||||||||||
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Interest
expense on convertible debentures
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160 | 258 | 578 | 799 | ||||||||||||
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Accretion in
carrying value of convertible debentures
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407 | 320 | 1,175 | 925 | ||||||||||||
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Interest
income
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(65 | ) | (120 | ) | (218 | ) | (435 | ) | ||||||||
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Loss from
operation for the period
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2,469 | 3,839 | 7,415 | 8,983 | ||||||||||||
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Gain on sale
of shares
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- | 11 | (450 | ) | (6,299 | ) | ||||||||||
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Net loss and
other comprehensive loss for the period
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2,469 | 3,850 | 6,965 | 2,684 | ||||||||||||
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Basic and
diluted loss per common share
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$ | 0.01 | $ | 0.02 | $ | 0.03 | $ | 0.01 | ||||||||
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Weighted
average number of common shares outstanding used in the calculation of
Basic and
diluted loss per share
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253,538 | 215,751 | 244,039 | 214,386 | ||||||||||||
Note re the
financial statement information above:
On July 10, 2007
(the “Arrangement Date”), the Company completed a plan of arrangement and
corporate reorganization with 4325231 Canada Inc., formerly Lorus Therapeutics
Inc., (“Old Lorus”), 6707157 Canada Inc. and Pinnacle International Lands Inc.
that resulted in net proceeds of $6.9 million (the
“Arrangement”). As a result of the plan of arrangement
and reorganization, among other things, each common share of Old Lorus was
exchanged for one common share of the Company and the assets (excluding certain
future tax assets and related valuation allowance) and liabilities of Old Lorus
were transferred to the Company and/or its subsidiaries. The Company
continued the business of Old Lorus after the Arrangement Date with the same
officers and employees and continued to be governed by the same Board of
Directors as Old Lorus prior to the Arrangement Date. Therefore, the Company’s
operations have been accounted for on a continuity of interest basis and
accordingly, the consolidated financial statement information above reflects
that of the Company as if it had always carried on the business formerly carried
on by Old Lorus.
About
Lorus
Lorus is a
biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of novel
therapeutics in cancer. Lorus’ goal is to capitalize on its research,
preclinical, clinical and regulatory expertise by developing new drug candidates
that can be used, either alone, or in combination with other drugs, to
successfully manage cancer. Through its own discovery efforts and an
acquisition and in-licensing program, Lorus is building a portfolio of promising
anticancer drugs. Lorus Therapeutics Inc. is listed on the Toronto
Stock Exchange under the symbol LOR.
Forward Looking
Statements
This press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian and U.S.
securities laws. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements
relating to: financings and corporate reorganizations, the establishment of
corporate alliances, the Company’s plans, objectives, expectations and
intentions and other statements including words such as “continue”, “expect”,
“intend”, “will”, “should”, “would”, “may”, and other similar
expressions. Such statements reflect our current views with respect
to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties and are necessarily
based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered
reasonable by us are inherently subject to significant business, economic,
competitive, political and social uncertainties and
contingencies. Many factors could cause our actual results,
performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements described in this press release. Such
expressed or implied forward looking statements could include, among
others: our ability to continue as a going concern, our ability to
repay or refinance our outstanding convertible debentures by October 2009, our
ability to obtain the capital required for research and operations; the inherent
risks in early stage drug development including demonstrating efficacy;
development time/cost and the regulatory approval process; the progress of our
clinical trials; our ability to find and enter into agreements with potential
partners; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; changing market
conditions; and other risks detailed from time-to-time in our ongoing filings
with Canadian securities regulators and the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Should one or more
of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should the assumptions set out
in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our filings with Canadian securities
regulators and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission underlying
those forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary
materially from those described herein. These forward-looking
statements are made as of the date of this press release and we do not intend,
and do not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements,
except as required by law. We cannot assure you that such statements
will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Investors are
cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance and accordingly investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on
forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty
therein.
Lorus
Therapeutics Inc.’s recent press releases are available through its website at
www.lorusthera.com. For
Lorus' regulatory filings on SEDAR, please go to www.Sedar.com. For
SEDAR filings prior to July 10, 2007 you will find these under the company
profile for Global Summit Real Estate Inc. (Old
Lorus).
For
further information, please contact:
Lorus Therapeutics
Inc.
Elizabeth Williams,
1-416-798-1200 ext. 372
ir@lorusthera.com