Zealand Pharma A/S - Financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2010

2/10/2011 7:53 AM EST

Zealand Pharma A/S
Financial Statement Release

Zealand Pharma A/S - Financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2010



Company Announcement
No. 02/2011

10 February 2011




Financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2010

For the full year 2010 Zealand Pharma generated revenue of DKK 87.4 (EUR 11.7)
million, compared to DKK 25.3 (EUR 3.4) million in 2009, and recorded a loss
before tax of DKK 104.6 (EUR 14.0) million. The revenue stems primarily from
milestone payments from sanofi-aventis relating to lixisenatide. 

The loss before tax is lower than the previous outlook of DKK 110-120 (EUR
15-16) million mainly as a result of lower costs for incentive programs. As of
31 December 2010 the company's cash and cash equivalents plus liquid
investments in securities amounted to DKK 433.0 (EUR 58.1) million. 

In November 2010 Zealand Pharma completed an Initial Public Offering and listed
on the NASDAQ OMX in Copenhagen raising DKK 372.9 (EUR 50.0) million (gross). 

During the year, Zealand Pharma's R&D pipeline in the field of peptide drugs
made good progress, notably with the lead drug candidate, lixisenatide, but
also with Zealand Pharma's other portfolio programs. 



Highlights from 2010

Pipeline achievements

  -- Zealand Pharma's partner sanofi-aventis announced positive Phase III
     top-line results from the first two GetGoal clinical trials with
     lixisenatide;
     -- All study endpoints were successfully met in the two trials and
        lixisenatide was generally well tolerated with no significant adverse
        events
     -- As monotherapy, lixisenatide significantly reduced blood sugar levels
        vs. placebo
     -- In combination with basal insulin, lixisenatide showed significant
        improvement in glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes
  -- Zealand Pharma received milestone payments from its partner sanofi-aventis
     relating to lixisenatide of a total of DKK 82.8 (USD 15.0) million.
  -- The global licensing agreement with sanofi-aventis was amended to provide
     for the development and commercialization of lixisenatide in combination
     with Lantus®, sanofi-aventis' recombinant human long-acting insulin analog.
  -- Sanofi-aventis announced publically their expected initiation of the
     lixisenatide + Lantus® combination product Phase III within 12-18 months
     from September 2010.
  -- Zealand Pharma achieved positive results from a Phase Ib trial of ZP1848
     for the treatment of Crohn's disease.

Business events

  -- In November Zealand Pharma raised gross DKK 372.9 (EUR 50) million in an
     Initial Public Offering making it the largest European biotech IPO in 2010.
     The company issued 4,336,047 new shares and is now listed on NASDAQ OMX
     Copenhagen under the ticker symbol ZEAL.
  -- In March the management team was strengthened with the appointment of three
     new members. Christian Grøndahl joined as Chief Scientific Officer, Mats
     Blom joined as Chief Financial Officer and John Hyttel, co-founder of
     Zealand Pharma, was appointed Senior Vice President for Operations.



Events after the balance sheet date

  -- In February 2011, Zealand Pharma's partner sanofi-aventis announced
     positive data from the GetGoal-X Phase III study of lixisenatide.
     Lixisenatide achieved its primary endpoint of non-inferiority in HbA1c
     reduction from baseline, compared with exenatide twice-daily.



Outlook 2011

In 2011, Zealand Pharma expects total operating expenses of approximately DKK
170 (EUR 22.8) million. 

Most of Zealand Pharma's revenue stems from activity triggered milestone
payments from its partners. As the timing of such payments is largely outside
the control of Zealand Pharma, the company does not provide guidance on future
revenue. 



David Solomon, President and CEO commented on the report:

“2010 was a transformational year for Zealand Pharma. We achieved an IPO in
November and joined NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen having raised DKK 372.9 million
(gross). We're delighted that our lead compound, lixisenatide, showed positive
top-line results - three Phase III studies in the GETGOAL clinical trial
program have now been announced and all met primary endpoints and confirmed the
attractive efficacy and safety profile of lixisenatide. We also look forward to
continuing our close cooperation with Helsinn Healthcare on the further
development of ZP1846, a novel therapy for the treatment of
chemotherapy-induced diarrhoea. We would like to thank all staff for their
dedication to Zealand Pharma and our existing and new shareholders for their
continued support. We look forward to further pipeline developments and
clinical data throughout 2011 and to an exciting future ahead as a listed
company.” 



Conference call

The company will host a conference call today, Thursday, February 10 at 15:00
CET. David Solomon, President & CEO, and Mats Blom, CFO, will present the
year-end results followed by a Q&A session. The conference call will be
conducted in English and the dial-in numbers are: 

DK +45 32 71 46 07
UK and international +44 (0) 145 255 5566
US +1 866 966 9439

Passcode for all participants: 42824017

An accompanying presentation will be available for download from the company's
website (ir.zealandpharma.com) approximately one hour before the event. 



The full company announcement is attached as pdf.



For further information, please contact:

Zealand Pharma A/S
David Solomon, President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +45 4328 1200

M:Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott / Emma Thompson / Amber Bielecka / Ulf Martensson
Tel: +44 20 7920 2330 / +46 8 407 22 43