Dendreon Corporation Announces Consolidation of San Diego Operations Acquired Through Recent Corvas Acquisition.Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers BIOWIRE2K SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 2003 Dendreon Corporation (Nasdaq:DNDN) today announced the closure of its San Diego operations recently acquired through its acquisition of Corvas International. The closure will allow Dendreon to focus its resources on optimizing the value of key assets and obtain future operating efficiencies. To efficiently manage on-going programs presently located in San Diego, Dendreon will relocate essential San Diego activities to its headquarters in Seattle and close the San Diego facility by the end of January 2004. This consolidation is estimated to result in total cost savings to Dendreon of approximately $10 million per year. "We are committed to advancing our lead development programs while efficiently managing operations and leveraging value from our research programs," said Mitchell H. Gold, M.D., chief executive officer of Dendreon. "We continue to concentrate our efforts on ensuring the progress of our late-stage clinical programs as well as advancing our other clinical product candidates." Dendreon intends to maximize the value of its clinical and preclinical assets gained through the acquisition of Corvas, including the rNAPc2 (recombinant nematode nematode or roundworm Any of more than 15,000 named and many more unnamed species of worms in the class Nematoda (phylum Aschelminthes). Nematodes include plant and animal parasites and free-living forms found in soil, freshwater, saltwater, and even vinegar anticoagulant anticoagulant (ăn'tēkōăg`yələnt), any of several substances that inhibit blood clot formation (see blood clotting). protein c2) program, which a recent study published in the Lancet suggests may be effective in the treatment of Ebola virus Ebola virus (ēbō`lə), a member of a family (Filovirus) of viruses that cause hemorrhagic fevers. The virus, named for the region in Congo (Kinshasa) where it was first identified in 1976, emerged from the rain forest, where it survives in infection, as well as its PACT (Protease protease /pro·te·ase/ (pro´te-as) endopeptidase. pro·te·ase n. Any of various enzymes, including the proteinases and peptidases, that catalyze the hydrolytic breakdown of proteins. Activated Cancer Therapy) and other serine serine (sĕr`ēn), organic compound, one of the 20 amino acids commonly found in animal proteins. Only the l-stereoisomer appears in mammalian protein. protease-based oncology programs. Dendreon Corporation is a biotechnology company developing targeted therapies for cancer. The company's lead investigational product candidate, Provenge(R), is a cancer immunotherapy undergoing a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial phase 3 clinical trial Phase 3 study. See Phase study. for the treatment of androgen androgen (ăn`drəjən): see testosterone. androgen Any of a group of hormones that mainly influence the development of the male reproductive system. independent prostate cancer prostate cancer, cancer originating in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in men. . In addition to its immunotherapies in clinical and preclinical development for a variety of cancers, Dendreon's product pipeline also includes monoclonal antibody monoclonal antibody, an antibody that is mass produced in the laboratory from a single clone and that recognizes only one antigen. Monoclonal antibodies are typically made by fusing a normally short-lived, antibody-producing B cell (see immunity) to a fast-growing , small molecule and prodrug prodrug /pro·drug/ (-drug) a compound that, on administration, must undergo chemical conversion by metabolic processes before becoming an active pharmacological agent; a precursor of a drug. product candidates. Dendreon has research and development alliances with Genentech, Inc., Abgenix, Inc. and Dyax Corp. For more information about the company and its programs, visit www.dendreon.com. Except for historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that Dendreon may be unable to realize expected benefits from its acquisition of Corvas International Inc., the risks that Dendreon may not successfully develop clinical and preclinical product candidates acquired from Corvas either because the efficacy or safety results from studies of those product candidates may not support further development, resources are required to be devoted elsewhere or for other reasons, the risks that the relocation of activities will not lead to operating efficiencies or successful product development, the risks that Dendreon may be unable to secure collaborators for the development or commercialization of product candidates or that one or more of such collaborations may not be successful, the risks that safety or efficacy results of a clinical trial of Provenge or other product candidates will not support an application for a biologics license, the risks that the FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. or similar agencies in other countries will not approve a biologics license, the dependence on the efforts of third parties, the uncertainty of Dendreon's future access to capital, risks and uncertainties inherent in the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics, risks relating to Dendreon's relatively limited operating history and the dependence on intellectual property. Further information on the factors and risks that could affect Dendreon's business, financial condition and results of operations, are contained in Dendreon's SEC reports, which are available at www.sec.gov |
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