WINNIPEG, Manitoba - (October 23, 2003). Medicure
Inc. (TSX:MPH), a cardiovascular drug discovery and development
company, today reported financial results for the three-month period
ending August 31, 2003. Unless otherwise stated, the dollar values
quoted herein represent Canadian dollars.
The financial results for the first quarter ended August 31, 2003
include a consolidated net loss from operations of $1,100,000 or
$0.02 per share, compared to a net loss of $1,206,000 or $0.03 per
share for the three-month period ended August 31, 2002. The decrease
in operating loss was primarily due to a reduction in clinical expenditures
incurred this year versus those from the prior year.
Research and development costs were $755,000 as compared to $1,002,000
for the same quarter in 2002. The decrease in expenditures is as
a result of the clinical program costs being lower in the current
quarter, as opposed to the prior year figure which, included the
costs associated with the Phase II trial, MEND-1. The Company expects
its research and development expenditures for the remainder of fiscal
2004 to be higher than fiscal 2003. A significant portion of the
increase in expenditures during fiscal 2004 will be incurred in
the Phase II Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) trial attributed
to MC-1 and the Phase II Hypertension trial involving MC-4232.
MILESTONE ACHIEVED
During the quarter ended August 31, 2003, Medicure achieved a major
milestone when it received approval from Canada's Therapeutics Product
Directorate (TPD) for the commencement of an initial Phase II clinical
trial as part of the development program for Medicure's second drug
candidate, MC-4232, for use in the treatment of hypertension. In
a pre-IND meeting to consider the Company's proposed development
of MC-4232, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
agreed in principle with the Company's plan with regard to the proposed
Phase II/III clinical program.
"This represents another important clinical milestone for the
Company and further demonstrates the depth of our product pipeline
and drug development expertise." stated Albert D. Friesen,
PhD, Medicure's President and Chief Executive Officer. "MC-4232
is the Company's second cardiovascular drug in Phase II clinical
development targeting hypertension, a major unmet component of the
cardiovascular market. Moving forward into a Phase II trial with
a second drug candidate solidified Medicure's Drug Discovery Program
and firmly established us as a product focused company advancing
novel therapeutics to address a range of unmet cardiovascular needs."
CASH POSITION ENHANCED
On June 26, 2003, the Company strengthened its cash position by
raising gross proceeds of $7,648,000 (before share issuance costs
of $606,000). A syndicate, led by Research Capital Corporation,
and including First Associates Investments Inc and Paradigm Capital
Inc. sold by way of a private placement a total of 8,997,632 common
shares of the Company at $0.85 per share.
FILED IND FOR PHASE II CABG TRIAL
Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the Company announced that
it had filed for regulatory approval with the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) and Canada's Therapeutics Product Directorate
(TPD) to commence a Phase II clinical trial of MC-1 to evaluate
the cardioprotective and neuroprotective effects of the drug in
patients undergoing high-risk Coronary Artery Bypass Graft surgery.
Up to 900 patients undergoing the CABG procedure will be enrolled
in the dose response study, which will be carried out under the
direction of Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, MD, FRCP, Director of Clinical
Research and Associate Professor of Medicine at the Montreal Heart
Institute, and Dr. Robert Harrington, Professor of Medicine and
Director of Cardiovascular Clinical Trials, Duke University Medical
Centre.
OTHER FINANCIAL RESULTS
Interest and other income for the first quarter ended August 31,
2003 was $70,000 compared to $66,000 for the first quarter ended
August 31, 2002. The increase is the result of a higher cash and
cash equivalent balance as compared to the same period of the prior
year.
General and administrative expenditures for the current quarter
were $409,000 compared to $263,000 for the same quarter of the prior
fiscal year. The increase is attributable to the internal growth
that is required to support the Company's increasing business development
and investor relations activities. The Company expects higher levels
of general and administrative activities for the remainder of fiscal
year ending May 31, 2004 to further support these increased business
development activities.
At August 31, 2003, the Company maintained a strong cash position
with cash and cash equivalents totaling $10,265,000 as compared
to $4,130,000 as of May 31, 2003. For the three months ended August
31, 2003, Medicure received net proceeds of $250,000 from the exercise
of options and warrants compared to $25,000 for the same period
in fiscal 2003. The total number of Common Shares increased to 47,942,521
from 38,509,864 at May 31, 2003.
Subsequent to August 31, 2003, the Company received an additional
$912,000 from the exercise of 78,000 options and 1,153,500 warrants.
As at September 30, 2003, the Company had 16.9 million warrants
outstanding that expire on December 20, 2003. Should all of these
outstanding warrants be exercised it would result in proceeds of
$13.5 million and provide sufficient resources to fund planned operations
until the first quarter of fiscal 2006.
An expanded version of the Management Discussion and Analysis and
the financial statements for the quarter are accessible on Medicure's
website at www.medicureinc.com.
About Medicure
Inc.
Medicure
Inc is a cardiovascular drug discovery and development
Company focused on developing effective therapeutics for unmet needs
in the field of cardiovascular medicine. The Company's lead drug,
MC-1, is focused on the prevention and treatment of ischemia, ischemic
reperfusion injury, and stroke. The cardiovascular and stroke market
is the largest pharmaceutical sector with annual global sales of
over US $70 billion.
The Company's second product candidate, MC-4232, is being targeted
for the treatment of hypertension, a common disorder in which blood
pressure remains abnormally high. Approximately 73% of the more
than 50 million adult Americans who have hypertension, are not adequately
treated.
Medicure also has a medicinal chemistry based Drug Discovery program
focused on discovery and advancement of novel small molecule, anti-ischemics
and anti-thrombotics towards human clinical studies.
This news release
contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, which may
cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made,
and accordingly may be deemed to be forward-looking statements made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements are
made as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any intention
and has no obligation or responsibility to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
For more information, please contact:
Derek Reimer
Chief Financial Officer
Don Bain
Director of Investor & Public Relations
