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ChondroGene reports 2005 fourth quarter and year end financial results

TORONTO, CANADA (March 9, 2006): ChondroGene™ Limited (TSX Venture: CDG) announced its financial results today for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2005.

For the fourth quarter of 2005, ChondroGene™ reported revenues of $2,070,367 compared to revenues of $1,560,119 for the fourth quarter of 2004. The net income for the quarter was $246,084 or $0.01 per share, compared to a net loss of $422,071 or $0.01 per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2004.

ChondroGene reported revenues of $5,338,478 for the year ended December 31, 2005, compared to revenues of $2,226,807 for the year ended December 31, 2004. Revenues for the year were attributable to the research collaboration with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE). The net loss for the year was $3,075,107 or $0.08 per share, compared to a net loss of $5,617,146 or $0.16 per share for the year ended December 31, 2004. As of December 31, 2005, the Company had $4,680,882 in cash and cash equivalents.

"The strength of our Sentinel Principle™ technology is the ability to use simple blood samples as the basis for developing and validating highly sensitive and specific molecular tests. Blood-based testing is safe, easy and encourages compliance. We can use our Sentinel Principle platform to quickly and economically identify biomarker sets to develop affordable and flexible tests that run on standardized instrumentation," stated K. Wayne Marshall, MD, PhD, President & CEO of ChondroGene. "We made significant progress during the year in identifying specific biomarker sets for our initial products in colon cancer and prostate cancer. Our ColonSentry™ test, which is being developed to detect colon cancer and pre-cancerous polyps, has demonstrated very exciting preliminary results and is currently undergoing additional clinical testing."

2005 Highlights

Test Development

  • During the year, the Company focussed its attention on developing tests for specific cancers. We are currently validating a blood-based test, ColonSentry, for detecting colon cancer and pre-cancerous polyps. The Company collected over 2,500 samples from patients undergoing colonoscopy for use in the research and development of the test.
  • ChondroGene also continued development of a prostate cancer test with the collection of over 500 samples from patients with elevated PSA levels scheduled for prostate biopsy. The ProstateSentry™ test is being developed to detect prostate cancer.

Collaborations

  • ChondroGene entered into a new research collaboration with Pfizer in December of 2004 to continue the work that was begun in the first collaboration. ChondroGene completed the required milestones during 2005 and expects to fulfil the remaining milestones by the completion of the current collaboration in October 2006. Talks will be initiated with Pfizer mid-year regarding possible new collaborations.
  • The Company entered into an agreement with the Division of Research of the Permanente Medical Group of Northern California in October, to jointly develop a research database infrastructure that will be used for genomic research. The Permanente Medical Group of Northern California is one of eight multi-specialty physician groups that are part of Kaiser Permanente, America's leading integrated health care organization with over 8.3 million members in nine states. ChondroGene expects to enter into other collaborations with Kaiser in the future in specific disease areas.
  • In August, ChondroGene entered into an alliance with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) that provides a framework for ChondroGene to enter into collaborations with UCSF scientific researchers and clinicians in applying the Sentinel Principle to new diagnostic and therapeutic uses in a range of diseases. It is expected that the Company will enter into a number of agreements with specific collaborators during the current year.
  • ChondroGene entered into collaborations with 2 Malaysian hospitals - Lam Wah Ee Hospital and Island Hospital, two leading hospitals in Penang, Malaysia. Initially the hospitals will collect blood samples from patients with diseases of interest to ChondroGene and eventually will offer ChondroGene's tests as they become available.

Publications

Four major scientific papers were published during the year:

  1. "Assessing the Validity of Blood-Based Gene Expression Profiles for the Classification of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: A preliminary Report" in the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics;
  2. "Blood-based biomarkers for detecting mild osteoarthritis in the human knee" in the October issue of the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage;
  3. "Comparative gene expression analysis of blood and brain provides concurrent validation of SELENBP1 up-regulation in schizophrenia" was published in the October 25th issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS);
  4. "Gene Expression Profiling in Blood Cells Reveals Novel Biomarkers of Human Urinary Bladder Cancer" was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting on May 16, 2005.
Other
  • Dr. Daniel H. Farkas joined the Company in December as Vice President, Clinical Diagnostics. Dr. Farkas will work to identify applications for the Company's Sentinel Principle™, develop clinical and commercial opportunities for the Company's products and assist in the Company's regulatory strategy development and implementation.
  • Subsequent to year end, Loewen, Ondaatje, McCutcheon Limited initiated research coverage on ChondroGene.
  • In March, the Company received funding support from the National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance program (NRC-IRAP) to assist in the identification and development of biomarkers for use in detecting and staging osteoarthritis using a blood sample. The work is expected to be completed in Q1/06 at which time the Company will explore opportunities for commercializing the results.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected herein. Investors should consult the Company's ongoing quarterly filings and annual reports for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Financial statements are available in the attached pdf document. [ Download PDF ]

About GeneNews

GeneNews is focused on the application of functional genomics to enable early diagnosis and personalized therapeutic intervention based on disease-specific biomarkers. The Company has developed a novel approach, the Sentinel Principle™, to detect and stage virtually any disease or medical condition from a simple blood sample. GeneNews is currently applying the Sentinel Principle™ in major areas with unmet clinical needs such as cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders. GeneNews' first product, ColonSentry™, is a convenient and patient-friendly blood-based test that can assess an individual's current risk for colorectal cancer. For more information on GeneNews, visit www.genenews.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events could differ materially from those projected herein. Investors should consult the Company's ongoing quarterly filings and annual reports for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.