CeNeS Pharmaceuticals’ share price dipped on the London Stock Exchange yesterday even though the UK company produced a relatively solid set of full-year 2004 financial results, with losses trimmed from £6 million pounds in 2003 to £4.9 million and cash resources almost doubling to end the period at £14.3 million.
The firm, whose results were buoyed in part by a recent £11 million fundraising round [[06/10/04e]], says that research and development costs rose 21% to £3.5 million as a result of additional clinical trial costs associated with the Phase III trials for the post-operative pain drug M6G (morphine-6-glucuronid), and the CNS5161 Phase II clinical trials in neuropathic pain. Recruitment into the latter study has completed, with results expected in the second quarter of the year, while a final Phase III trial for M6G is expected to begin during the second quarter, with results due in 2006. European and US filings are expected to follow in 2006, with a possible European launch set for 2007.
Commenting on the results, CeNeS’ chairman, Alan Goodman, said: “We are pleased with the excellent progress CeNeS made in 2004… The successful completion of the fundraising in November 2004 will allow the company to continue to progress its exciting pipeline of products that is focused on developing new drugs in the commercially attractive [central nervous system] market”.
