HAYWARD, Calif., July 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Anthera
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:
ANTH), today announced financial results and business
highlights for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.
Financial Results:
Total operating expenses for the second quarter ended June 30,
2011 were $22.7 million, as compared to $7.9 million for the same
period in 2010. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, total
operating expenses were $41.3 million, as compared to $14.4 million
for the same period in 2010. Increased operating expenses in the
second quarter of 2011 can be attributed to accelerating enrollment
of our Phase 3 VISTA-16 cardiovascular study (Vascular
Inflammation Suppression to Treat Acute
Coronary Syndrome – 16 Weeks) following the recent completion of
the interim biomarker analysis. VISTA-16 is an event driven study
in Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) patients studying the benefit of
varespladib anti-inflammatory treatment in high risk patients.
Additionally, enrollment of Anthera’s Phase 2b Lupus study,
PEARL-SC (A Randomized, Double-Blind Phase 2b Study to
Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of
A623 AdministRation in Subjects with Systemic
Lupus Erythematosus) has exceeded expectations. During the
second quarter we accelerated manufacturing activity related to the
development of blisibimod (A-623), our large molecule inhibitor of
BAFF being dosed in the PEARL-SC clinical study, which also
contributed to incremental expenses.
Anthera ended the second quarter of 2011 with approximately
$112.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and short-term
investments, which includes approximately $54.0 million of net
proceeds received from a public offering, which closed on June 8,
2011. This is compared to $78.5 million in cash and cash
equivalents and short-term investments for the first quarter
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