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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 


 

FORM 10-Q

 


 

x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended: March 31, 2004

 

OR

 

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from              to             

 

Commission File Number 0-28386

 


 

CELL THERAPEUTICS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 


 

Washington   91-1533912

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

501 Elliott Avenue West, Suite 400
Seattle, Washington
  98119
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

 

(206) 282-7100

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 


 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨.

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  x    No  ¨.

 

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date:

 

Class


 

Outstanding at April 30, 2004


Common Stock, no par value

  50,349,529

 



Table of Contents

CELL THERAPEUTICS, INC.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     PAGE

PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

    

ITEM 1: Financial Statements

    

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003

   3

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations – Three Months Ended March 31, 2004 and 2003

   4

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows – Three Months Ended March 31, 2004 and 2003

   5

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

   6

ITEM 2: Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

   13

ITEM 3: Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

   35

ITEM 4: Controls and Procedures

   35

PART II - OTHER INFORMATION

    

ITEM 1: Legal Proceedings

   37

ITEM 6: Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K

   37

Signatures

   38

 

2


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CELL THERAPEUTICS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except share amounts)

 

    

March 31,

2004


   

December 31,

2003


 

ASSETS

                

Current assets:

                

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 96,312     $ 8,438  

Securities available-for-sale

     35,701       83,144  

Interest receivable

     919       1,256  

Accounts receivable, net

     1,053       1,980  

Inventory

     1,227       1,008  

Note receivable from officer

     3,500       3,500  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     7,780       6,093  
    


 


Total current assets

     146,492       105,419  

Property and equipment, net

     24,057       11,341  

Goodwill

     17,064       17,064  

Other intangibles, net

     5,562       1,335  

Other assets and deferred charges, net

     12,178       10,931  
    


 


Total assets

   $ 205,353     $ 146,090  
    


 


LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT

                

Current liabilities:

                

Accounts payable

   $ 4,618     $ 4,031  

Accrued expenses

     29,702       21,940  

Accrued liability related to PolaRx acquisition

     123       5,019  

Current portion of deferred revenue

     1,013       765  

Current portion of long-term obligations

     1,798       1,766  
    


 


Total current liabilities

     37,254       33,521  

Deferred revenue, less current portion

     1,361       1,310  

Other long-term obligations, less current portion

     5,808       3,702  

Convertible senior subordinated notes

     160,459       160,459  

Convertible subordinated notes

     29,640       29,640  

Commitments and contingencies

                

Shareholders’ deficit:

                

Preferred stock, no par value:

                

Authorized shares - 10,000,000

                

Series C, 100,000 shares designated, none issued or outstanding

     —         —    

Series D, 10,000 shares designated, none issued or outstanding

     —         —    

Common stock, no par value:

                

Authorized shares - 100,000,000

                

Issued and outstanding shares - 50,341,088 and 34,339,040 at March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003, respectively

     586,371       394,750  

Deferred stock-based compensation

     (5,178 )     (5,956 )

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

     (3,481 )     (850 )

Accumulated deficit

     (606,881 )     (470,486 )
    


 


Total shareholders’ deficit

     (29,169 )     (82,542 )
    


 


Total liabilities and shareholders’ deficit

   $ 205,353     $ 146,090  
    


 


 

See accompanying notes.

 

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CELL THERAPEUTICS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,


 
     2004

    2003

 

Revenues:

                

Product sales

   $ 3,858     $ 4,310  

License and contract revenue

     637       571  
    


 


Total revenues

     4,495       4,881  
    


 


Operating expenses:

                

Cost of product sold

     152       146  

Research and development

     28,907       20,628  

Selling, general and administrative

     20,066       13,008  

Acquired in-process research and development

     88,524       —    

Amortization of purchased intangibles

     578       334  
    


 


Total operating expenses

     138,227       34,116  
    


 


Loss from operations

     (133,732 )     (29,235 )

Other income (expense):

                

Investment income

     519       654  

Interest and other expense

     (3,182 )     (1,888 )
    


 


Other expense, net

     (2,663 )     (1,234 )
    


 


Net loss

   $ (136,395 )   $ (30,469 )
    


 


Basic and diluted net loss per share

   $ (2.75 )   $ (0.92 )
    


 


Shares used in calculation of basic and diluted net loss per share

     49,556       33,114  
    


 


 

See accompanying notes.

 

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CELL THERAPEUTICS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,


 
     2004

    2003

 

Operating activities

                

Net loss

   $ (136,395 )   $ (30,469 )

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

                

Acquired in-process research and development

     88,524       —    

Depreciation and amortization

     2,528       1,147  

Noncash interest expense

     241       134  

Amortization of investment premium

     654       883  

Equity-based compensation expense

     2,200       53  

Loss on disposition of property and equipment

     60       —    

Noncash rent expense (benefit)

     104       (10 )

Loss on sale of investment securities

     4       —    

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

                

Interest receivable

     336       571  

Accounts receivable, net

     849       1,069  

Inventory

     (219 )     104  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     (1,557 )     436  

Other assets and deferred charges

     780       1,435  

Accounts payable

     (3,989 )     (1,469 )

Accrued expenses

     3,401       1,208  

Deferred revenue

     (238 )     (252 )

Long-term obligations

     86       —    
    


 


Total adjustments

     93,764       5,309  
    


 


Net cash used in operating activities

     (42,631 )     (25,160 )
    


 


Investing activities

                

Proceeds from sales of securities available-for-sale

     24,727       6,325  

Proceeds from maturities of securities available-for-sale

     22,105       80,146  

Purchases of securities available-for-sale

     —         (63,957 )

Purchases of property and equipment

     (750 )     (315 )

Additional consideration related to the PolaRx acquisition

     (4,896 )     (3,846 )

Net cash acquired in Novuspharma merger

     91,537       —    
    


 


Net cash provided by investing activities

     132,723       18,353  
    


 


Financing activities

                

Proceeds from common stock options exercised

     440       236  

Repayment of long-term obligations

     (555 )     (427 )
    


 


Net cash used in financing activities

     (115 )     (191 )
    


 


Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

     (2,103 )     —    

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

     87,874       (6,998 )

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

     8,438       17,946  
    


 


Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

   $ 96,312     $ 10,948  
    


 


Supplemental disclosure of cash and noncash flow information

                

Common stock issued for acquisition of Novuspharma

   $ 189,760     $ —    
    


 


Cash paid during the period for interest

   $ 60     $ 84  
    


 


 

See accompanying notes.

 

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CELL THERAPEUTICS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

The accompanying unaudited financial information of Cell Therapeutics, Inc., or CTI, as of March 31, 2004 and for the three months ended March 31, 2004 and 2003 has been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q. In the opinion of management, such financial information includes all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position at such date and the operating results and cash flows for such periods. Operating results for the three month period ended March 31, 2004 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the entire year. These financial statements and the related notes should be read in conjunction with our audited annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2003 included in our Form 10-K.

 

The balance sheet at December 31, 2003 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements.

 

Product Sales

 

We recognize revenue from product sales when there is persuasive evidence that an arrangement exists, title has passed and delivery has occurred, the price is fixed and determinable, and collectibility is reasonably assured. Product sales are recorded upon shipment net of an allowance for returns and discounts. In estimating returns, we analyze historical returns, sales patterns, estimated inventory on hand at the distributors and the remaining shelf life of that inventory. Allowances for returns, discounts and bad debts, which are netted against accounts receivable, totaled approximately $2.0 million and $2.1 million at March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003, respectively.

 

License and Contract Revenues

 

We may generate revenue from technology licenses, collaborative research and development arrangements, and cost reimbursement contracts. Revenue under technology licenses and collaborative agreements typically consists of nonrefundable and/or guaranteed technology license fees, collaborative research funding, and various milestone and product royalty or profit-sharing payments.

 

Revenue associated with up-front license fees, and research and development funding payments under collaborative agreements is recognized ratably over the relevant periods specified in the agreement, generally the research and development period. Revenue from substantive at-risk milestones and future product royalties is recognized as earned based on the completion of the milestones and product sales, as defined in the respective agreements. Revenue under cost reimbursement contracts is recognized as the related costs are incurred. Payments received in advance of recognition as revenue are recorded as deferred revenue.

 

Inventory

 

Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using a weighted-average method. Finished goods inventory consists of our Food and Drug Administration, or FDA-approved, and European Agency for Evaluation of Medicinal Products, or EMEA-approved pharmaceutical drug, TRISENOX®. If the cost of the inventory exceeds the expected market value, provisions are recorded for the difference between the cost and the net realizable value. When required, an allowance for excess inventory that may expire and become unsaleable is recorded. The components of inventories are as follows (in thousands):

 

    

March 31,

2004


  

December 31,

2003


Work in process

   $ 872    $ 759

Finished goods

     355      249
    

  

     $ 1,227    $ 1,008
    

  

 

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Research and Development Expenses

 

Research and development expenses include related salaries and benefits, clinical trial and related clinical trial manufacturing costs, contract and other outside service fees, and facilities and overhead costs. Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred for proprietary and collaboration research and development and also include activities such as product registries and investigator sponsored trials. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. In instances where we enter into agreements with third parties for research, clinical trial, and related clinical trial manufacturing costs, costs are expensed upon the earlier of when non-refundable amounts are due or as services are performed. Amounts due under such arrangements may be either fixed fee or fee for service, and may include upfront payments, monthly payments, and payments upon the completion of milestones or receipt of deliverables.

 

Acquired in-process research and development

 

Costs to acquire in-process research and development, or IPRD, projects and technologies which have no alternative future use and which have not reached technological feasibility at the date of acquisition are expensed as incurred (see Note 5, “Acquisition of Novuspharma, S.p.A.”).

 

Derivative Financial Instruments

 

Effective at the beginning of fiscal 2001, we adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standard, or SFAS, 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, as amended. We are subject to risks associated with fluctuations in the LIBOR interest rate from lease payments on our leased aircraft. Our policy is to hedge a portion of these forecasted transactions through an interest rate swap agreement. This swap agreement has been designated as a cash flow hedge. The portion of the net gain or loss on the derivative instrument that is effective as a hedge is reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss in shareholders’ deficit and is reclassified into earnings in the same period during which the hedged transaction affects earnings. The remaining net gain or loss on the derivative in excess of the present value of the expected cash flows of the hedged transaction is recorded in earnings immediately. If a derivative does not qualify for hedge accounting, or a portion of the hedge is deemed ineffective, the change in fair value is recorded in earnings. The swap was perfectly effective at March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003. We do not enter into forward agreements for trading purposes.

 

Foreign Currency Translation

 

For our operations that have a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar, gains and losses resulting from the translation of the functional currency into U.S. dollars for financial statement presentation are not included in determining net loss but are accumulated in the cumulative translation adjustment account as a separate component of shareholders’ deficit in accordance with SFAS 52.

 

Reclassifications

 

Certain prior year items have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.

 

2. Comprehensive Loss

 

SFAS 130, Reporting Comprehensive Income, provides for unrealized gains and losses on our securities available-for-sale and on our interest rate swap agreement, designated as a cash flow hedge, to be included in other comprehensive loss. Also included are net exchange gains or losses resulting from the translation of assets and liabilities of foreign subsidiaries. Total comprehensive loss was $139.0 million and $30.5 million for the three month periods ended March 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively.

 

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Information regarding the components of accumulated other comprehensive loss is as follows (in thousands):

 

    

March 31,

2004


   

December 31,

2003


 

Foreign currency translation adjustment

   $ (2,480 )   $ —    

Net unrealized losses on interest rate swap

     (1,009 )     (810 )

Net unrealized gains (losses) on securities available-for-sale

     8       (40 )
    


 


     $ (3,481 )   $ (850 )
    


 


 

Exchange losses related to foreign currency transactions were approximately $456,000 and included in interest and other expense in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations for the three months ended March 31, 2004. There were no significant foreign currency transaction gains or losses during the three months ended March 31, 2003.

 

3. Employee Benefit Plan

 

In connection with our merger with Novuspharma S.p.A on January 1, 2004, we assumed a defined benefit plan and related obligation for benefits owed to our Italian employees who, pursuant to Italian law, are entitled to a lump sum payment upon leaving for any reason. Related costs are accrued, net of applicable advances, over the employees’ service periods based on compensation and years of service. In accordance with EITF 88-1, Determination of Vested Benefit Obligation for a Defined Benefit Pension Plan, we have elected to carry the obligation under the plan at the amount of the vested benefit obligation which is defined as the actuarial present value of the vested benefit to which the employee is entitled if the employee separates immediately. As of March 31, 2004, the vested benefit obligation was approximately $1.3 million and was included in other long-term obligations.

 

4. Stock-Based Compensation

 

In accordance with SFAS 123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation, we elected to continue to account for employee stock-based compensation using the intrinsic value method prescribed in Accounting Principles Board Opinion, or APB, 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees, and related interpretations. Generally, compensation cost for employee stock options is measured as the excess, if any, of the market price of our common stock at the date of grant over the stock option exercise price. Compensation cost for restricted stock units equals the market price of our common stock at the date of grant. Any deferred compensation is recognized on a graded vesting method. Under our plan, stock options are generally granted at fair market value.

 

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In accordance with the provisions of SFAS 123, we apply APB 25 and related interpretations in accounting for our stock incentive plans and, accordingly, do not recognize compensation cost for options granted with exercise prices equal to or greater than fair value. If we elected to recognize compensation cost based on the fair value of the awards granted at grant date as prescribed by SFAS 123, net loss and basic and diluted net loss per share would have been adjusted as follows (in thousands, except per share amounts):

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,


 
     2004

    2003

 

Net loss:

                

As reported

   $ (136,395 )   $ (30,469 )

Add: Stock-based employee compensation included in reported net loss

     2,173       6  

Deduct: Total stock-based employee compensation expense determined under fair value based method for all awards

     (2,902 )     (3,761 )
    


 


As adjusted

   $ (137,124 )   $ (34,224 )
    


 


Basic and diluted net loss per share:

                

As reported

   $ (2.75 )   $ (0.92 )

As adjusted

   $ (2.77 )   $ (1.03 )

 

The fair value for each award granted was estimated at the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model, assuming no dividends and the following other assumptions:

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,


 
     2004

    2003

 

Average risk-free interest rates

   2.7 %   2.7 %

Average expected life (in years)

   4.5     4.5  

Volatility

           0.99             1.04  

 

Stock compensation expense for options granted to non-employees has been determined in accordance with SFAS 123 and the Emerging Issues Task Force, or EITF, consensus in Issue No. 96-18, Accounting for Equity Instruments that are Issued to Other than Employees for Acquiring, or in Conjunction with Selling, Goods or Services, as the fair value of the consideration received or the fair value of the equity instruments issued, whichever is more reliably measured. The fair value of options granted to non-employees is periodically remeasured as the underlying options vest.

 

5. Acquisition of Novuspharma, S.p.A.

 

On January 1, 2004, we completed the merger of Novuspharma, an Italian biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology, into CTI (“the Merger”). Novuspharma’s development strategy focused on the treatment of cancer, both by modifying existing chemotherapies to make them more effective and less toxic and by developing completely novel therapeutics for treatment of the disease. Following completion of the merger, Novuspharma’s assets and liabilities were contributed to our newly established European Branch, CTI (Europe).

 

As a closing condition to the merger, we applied and received approval for the listing of CTI common stock on the Nuovo Mercato (a segment of the Italian stock exchange) in Italy and began trading under the ticker symbol “CTIC” effective January 2, 2004.

 

At the time of the merger, approximately 15,629,000 shares of CTI common stock were issued based on the conversion of approximately 6,379,000 outstanding Novuspharma ordinary shares multiplied by the fixed exchange ratio of 2.45, with cash paid in lieu of fractional shares. The total cost of the merger is estimated to be approximately $196,079,000, based on a fair value of CTI common stock of $12.14, the average price of our common stock during a seven-day period beginning three trading days before and ending three trading days after the public announcement of the merger (June 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, 2003) and related transaction costs.

 

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The estimated total purchase price of the merger is as follows (in thousands):

 

Total value of CTI common stock

   $ 189,760

Estimated direct transaction costs

     6,319
    

Total estimated purchase price

   $ 196,079
    

 

As an asset purchase, the total estimated purchase price as shown in the table above was allocated to Novuspharma’s net tangible and intangible assets, including IPRD based initially on their fair values as of January 1, 2004. These fair values were determined through a preliminary valuation performed by an independent third party. A final determination of these fair values, which is currently in the process of being completed, will be based on management’s consideration of the final valuation. The estimated purchase price in excess of these estimated fair values was then allocated on a pro rata basis to IPRD and to non-monetary long-lived assets. IPRD represents the value of Novuspharma’s research and development projects in progress and was charged to operations upon the closing of the merger in accordance with SFAS 2, Accounting for Research and Development Costs. Other identified intangible assets with finite lives are being amortized over those lives and will be reviewed for impairment on at least an annual basis. No goodwill was recognized as a result of the Novuspharma transaction. Novuspharma’s results of operations are included in CTI’s statement of operations from January 1, 2004.

 

The preliminary allocation of the estimated purchase price is as follows (in thousands):

 

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 92,491  

Accounts receivable

     1,305  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     154  

Property and equipment

     14,208  

Other intangible assets

     4,921  

Other assets and deferred charges

     7,286  

Accounts payable and accrued expenses

     (10,002 )

Deferred revenue

     (549 )

Current portion of long-term obligations

     (132 )

Other long-term obligations, less current portion

     (2,129 )

Acquired in-process research and development

     88,526  
    


Total

   $ 196,079  
    


 

In-process research and development

 

Acquired IPRD for the Merger was evaluated utilizing the present value of the estimated after-tax cash flows expected to be generated by purchased technology, which, at the effective time of the Merger, had not reached technological feasibility. The cash flow projections for revenues are based on estimates of growth rates and the aggregate size of the respective market for each product, probability of technical success given the stage of development at the time of acquisition, royalty rates based on an assessment of industry market rates, product sales cycles, and the estimated life of a product’s underlying technology. The projections for revenues include assumptions that significant cash flows from product revenue would commence in 2006. Estimated operating expenses and income taxes are deducted from estimated revenue projections to arrive at estimated after-tax cash flows. Projected operating expenses include cost of goods sold, general and administrative expenses, and research and development costs. The rate utilized to discount projected cash flows was 30%, and was based on the relative risk of each in-process technology and was based primarily on risk adjusted rates of return for research and development and our weighted average cost of capital at the time of the Merger.

 

Acquired IPRD of approximately $88.5 million represents the values determined by our management to be attributable to the IPRD assets associated with the technology acquired in the Merger as follows (in thousands):

 

BBR 2778 (NHL)

   $ 81,602

BBR 2778 (MS)

     6,924
    

     $ 88,526
    

 

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As of January 1, 2004, pixantrone, also known as BBR 2778, was in Phase III clinical trials in indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, or NHL, in Phase II clinical trials in aggressive NHL, and was expected to enter clinical trials in multiple sclerosis, or MS, during the first half of 2004. The trial for indolent NHL had been modified and reduced to a registration supporting study, based on our strategy to conduct a pivotal phase III trial in aggressive NHL, which we believe provides the fastest route to registration for pixantrone. Pixantrone produced positive results in terms of efficacy and safety in preclinical trials and in Phase I and II trials. In preclinical studies, pixantrone has shown notable activity in animal models of cancer, particularly in models of blood-born tumors such as lymphoma. For purposes of the valuation, Novuspharma estimated its future research and development costs for pixantrone to be approximately $35.8 million through the launch year. Additionally, Novuspharma expected to file a new drug application with the FDA for pixantrone in 2005, at the earliest, with an estimated launch of pixantrone for aggressive NHL in 2006, with revenues for indolent NHL and MS being generated through off label usage. However, significant risk remains relative to the uncertainties inherent in clinical trials and in ultimately obtaining regulatory approval.

 

The values associated with these programs represent values ascribed by CTI’s management, based on the discounted cash flows currently expected from the technologies acquired and a pro rata allocation of the purchase price in excess of the estimated fair values of non-monetary assets acquired. The estimated cash flows include the estimated development costs and estimated product launch dates referred to above with estimated lives of these products ranging from twelve to fourteen years after approval. If these projects are not successfully developed, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected. As of the date of the Merger, we concluded that once completed, the technologies under development can only be economically used for their specific and intended purposes and that the in-process technology has no alternative future use after taking into consideration the overall objectives of the project, progress toward the objectives, and uniqueness of developments to these objectives.

 

Pro forma results of operations (unaudited)

 

The following table sets forth (1) the pro forma combined results of operations of CTI and CTI (Europe) for the three months ended March 31, 2004 and (2) the pro forma combined historical results of operations of CTI and Novuspharma for the three months ended March 31, 2003 as if the Merger occurred on January 1, 2003 (in thousands, except for per share amounts).

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,


 
     2004

    2003

 

Revenues

   $ 4,495     $ 5,058  

Net loss

   $ (47,871 )   $ (39,428 )

Basic and diluted net loss per common share

   $ (0.97 )   $ (0.81 )

 

The unaudited pro forma combined financial data is not intended to represent or be indicative of our consolidated results of operations that would have been reported had the merger been completed as of the dates presented, and should not be taken as representative of our future consolidated results of operation.

 

The pro forma results do not include the effect or the charge for IPRD as this is a non recurring charge resulting from the acquisition.

 

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Table of Contents

6. Restructuring Activities

 

In 2003, we began to implement plans to reduce our workforce to eliminate areas of redundancy and capitalize on synergies and efficiencies expected to be created by the merger with Novuspharma. As of March 31, 2004, a total of 47 employees had been terminated or received notice of termination as a result of our restructuring activities. Employee separation costs associated with the reorganization consist primarily of one-time termination benefits, principally severance payments and for certain key employees include retention bonuses, and are recognized in accordance with SFAS 146, Accounting for Costs Associated with Exit and Disposal Activities. To date, we have recorded approximately $1.7 million in research and development expenses for employee termination benefits related to terminated employees, $0.2 million of which was incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2004. We expect to incur additional employee termination benefit expenses of approximately $0.1 million during 2004.

 

The following table summarizes the changes in the liability for employee separation costs during the three months ended March 31, 2004 (in thousands):

 

Balance at December 31, 2003

   $ 874  

Additional charges

     206  

Adjustments

     (92 )

Cash payments

     (423 )
    


Balance at March 31, 2004

   $ 565  
    


 

7. Related Party Transactions

 

On April 8, 2002, we extended a loan of $3.5 million to Dr. James A. Bianco, our president and chief executive officer, which bears interest at the six-month LIBOR rate plus 2.25%, adjusted semi-annually, and was due on April 8, 2004. This loan is a full-recourse loan and is secured by a second mortgage on certain property owned by Dr. Bianco, as well as 255,381 shares of our common stock owned by Dr. Bianco. During 2003 and 2002, Dr. Bianco paid accumulated interest on his $3.5 million loan. The loan to Dr. Bianco was made by CTI before the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Dr. Bianco informed the board that he would not be able to pay this loan in full when due on April 8, 2004. The board of directors has delegated to the audit committee the responsibility of monitoring the collection of this loan. The audit committee continues to monitor the collection of the loan, the value of all collateral and sources of repayment for the loan, and is working with Dr. Bianco towards the promptest practical repayment of the loan. Dr. Bianco has confirmed to the board his absolute and unconditional obligation to repay the loan in full. As of March 31, 2004, based on an assessment of various factors, including the estimated value of the collateral, the Company believes that the loan is collectible.

 

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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

This quarterly report on Form 10-Q contains, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. These statements relate to our future plans, objectives, expectations, intentions and financial performance, and assumptions that underlie these statements. When used in this Form 10-Q, the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “continue,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” should,” or “will” or the negative of those terms or other comparable terms are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause industry trends or our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these statements. Our actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include those listed under “Factors Affecting Our Operating Results and Financial Condition,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and elsewhere in this Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Form 10-Q or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

 

OVERVIEW

 

We develop, acquire and commercialize novel treatments for cancer. Our goal is to build a leading, vertically-integrated biopharmaceutical company with a diversified portfolio of proprietary oncology drugs. Our research and in-licensing activities are concentrated on identifying new, less toxic and more effective ways to treat cancer. As of March 31, 2004, we had incurred aggregate net losses of approximately $606.9 million since inception. We expect to continue to incur significant additional operating losses over the next couple of years from our research and development efforts.

 

On January 1, 2004, we completed our acquisition of Novuspharma S.p.A. (currently CTI (Europe)), a public biopharmaceutical company located in Italy. We issued 15,629,138 shares of CTI common stock based on the conversion of 6,379,240 outstanding Novuspharma ordinary shares multiplied by the fixed exchange ratio of 2.45. The total cost of the merger is estimated to be approximately $196.1 million. This acquisition provided us worldwide rights to pixantrone, approximately $92.5 million of cash and cash equivalents, and a high-quality drug discovery organization and staff with an extensive track record in cancer drug development. The acquisition of CTI (Europe) and pixantrone are consistent with our strategy of growth by strategic acquisition and our goal to develop improved cancer therapies.

 

XYOTAX

 

In June 1998, we entered into an agreement with PG-TXL Company, L.P., or PG-TXL, and scientists at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, granting us an exclusive worldwide license to the rights to paclitaxel poliglutamex and to all potential uses of PG-TXL’s polymer technology. Paclitaxel poliglutamex is paclitaxel linked to polyglutamate, and is branded as XYOTAX. Under the terms of the agreement, we will fund the research, development, manufacture, marketing and sale of drugs developed using PG-TXL’s polymer technology. We will be obligated to make future milestone payments upon the attainment of significant achievements, as defined in the agreement, of up to $15.5 million, and royalty payments on net product sales. As of March 31, 2004, we have made $5.0 million in milestone payments.

 

In September 2001, we entered into a supply agreement with Natural Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for paclitaxel, a key starting material for our XYOTAX drug candidate. Under the supply agreement, we purchased paclitaxel at a pre-determined price and expect to receive supply through 2004.

 

In October 2001, we entered into a licensing agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., or Chugai, for the development and commercialization of XYOTAX. This agreement grants an exclusive license to Chugai to develop and commercialize XYOTAX in several Asian markets. Upon execution of the agreement, Chugai paid us a $3.0 million initial payment, which has been recorded as deferred revenue and is being recognized as license revenue over

 

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the development period of approximately seven years on a straight-line basis. Under the agreement, we received and recognized as revenue a $3.0 million milestone payment during 2002, we may also receive future milestone payments totaling up to $13.0 million upon Chugai’s achievement of certain product development milestones, and we are entitled to receive royalties on product sales in the territories covered under the agreement. Chugai has also committed to incur up to $54.0 million in development expenditures over the course of the licensing agreement. As of March 31, 2004, we have received $3.2 million in development expenditure reimbursements from Chugai.

 

In 2002, we initiated a XYOTAX phase III clinical trial for second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, and two additional phase III trials of XYOTAX in the front-line treatment of poor performance status, or PS2, patients with NSCLC.

 

In June 2003, we received fast track designation from the FDA for our XYOTAX pivotal trials in PS2 patients with advanced NSCLC.

 

In November 2003, we completed enrollment in one of our XYOTAX phase III pivotal trials, known as STELLAR 3, for the front-line treatment of PS2 patients with NSCLC.

 

In March 2004, we entered into an investigator clinical study agreement with the Gynecologic Oncology Group, or GOG, through which the GOG will conduct and sponsor a phase III trial of XYOTAX in patients with ovarian cancer. The GOG is expected to submit a protocol for a special protocol assessment to the FDA and file an Investigational New Drug application, or IND. The trial is expected to begin in the second half of 2004.

 

TRISENOX

 

On January 7, 2000, we entered into a Merger Agreement to acquire PolaRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., or PolaRx, a biopharmaceutical company that owned the rights to TRISENOX (arsenic trioxide), an anti-cancer compound for which we submitted and received approval for an NDA with the FDA. The acquisition was accounted for as a purchase transaction. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, we have made an additional contingent payment of approximately $4.0 million for meeting a $10.0 million TRISENOX sales threshold in 2002. We also recorded $5.0 million in additional goodwill and an accrued liability during the fourth quarter of 2003 in connection with achieving a $20.0 million sales threshold in 2004, of which approximately $4.9 million was paid during the first quarter of 2004. We are also required to make an additional payout of a 2% royalty on total net sales, payable in cash or common stock at the then fair market of our stock, for any calendar year that sales of TRISENOX exceed $40.0 million.

 

In September 2000, we received marketing approval of our NDA by the FDA for TRISENOX. Sales of TRISENOX in the U.S. commenced in October 2000, and in March 2002 we received approval from the EMEA to market TRISENOX in the European Union, or EU. We commenced the launch and sale of TRISENOX in the EU during the second quarter of 2002. We have recorded cumulative net product sales for TRISENOX of approximately $44.0 million through March 31, 2004. TRISENOX is manufactured primarily by a single vendor and sold through our direct sales force.

 

In December 2002, we entered into a distribution agreement with Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd., or Nippon. This agreement grants an exclusive license to Nippon to market and distribute TRISENOX injection in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Upon execution of the agreement, Nippon paid us a $750,000 initial payment, which we recorded as deferred revenue and which is being recognized as revenue over the performance period of approximately eighteen months on a straight-line basis. Under the agreement, we received and recognized as revenue a $500,000 milestone payment from Nippon in 2003 and we may also receive additional future milestone payments totaling up to $3.5 million upon attainment of certain achievements. We anticipate approval of TRISENOX for relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia, or APL, in Japan in the third quarter of 2004 which will trigger an additional milestone payment of $500,000 to us.

 

In April 2004, the U.S. Patent and Trademark office issued a patent directed to TRISENOX injection that extends CTI’s market exclusivity in the U.S. for the drug from 2007 to 2018. This extension is eleven years beyond the original orphan drug exclusivity for APL that currently expires in 2007.

 

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PIXANTRONE

 

We acquired pixantrone, a novel compound, for the potential treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, or NHL, through our merger with Novuspharma S.p.A. in January 2004. We are developing pixantrone, and have initiated a pivotal phase III trial in relapsed aggressive NHL in the first half of 2004.

 

OTHER COMPOUNDS

 

We are developing a novel polyglutamate-camptothecin molecule, or CT-2106. We filed an IND in December 2001 for this compound and initiated a phase I clinical study in the first quarter of 2002. In April 2004, we initiated a phase I/II clinical trial of CT-2106 in combination with infusional 5 fluorouracil/folinic acid, or 5-FU/FA, in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have failed front-line therapy with oxaliplatinum and plan to initiate clinical studies of CT-2106 in small cell lung cancer and advanced ovarian cancer this year.

 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

Management makes certain judgments and uses certain estimates and assumptions when applying accounting principles generally accepted in the United States in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an on-going basis and base our estimates on historical experience and on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Our experience and assumptions form the basis for our judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may vary from what we anticipate and different assumptions or estimates about the future could change our reported results. We believe the following accounting policies are the most critical to us, in that they are important to the portrayal of our consolidated financial statements and require our most difficult, subjective or complex judgments in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.

 

Product Sales

 

We recognize revenue from product sales when there is persuasive evidence that an arrangement exists, title has passed and delivery has occurred, the price is fixed and determinable, and collectibility is reasonably assured. Product sales are recorded net of an allowance for estimated returns and discounts. Customers may return damaged or expired inventory up to twelve months after the expiration date. In estimating returns, we analyze historical returns, sales patterns, estimated inventory on hand at the distributors and the remaining shelf life of that inventory. In arriving at the accrual for product returns we match the returns to the corresponding production batch to assess the historical trend for returns. Based on this analysis, the estimated return percentage is applied to current period sales. Allowances for returns, discounts and bad debts are netted against accounts receivable.

 

License Agreement Revenues

 

We may generate revenue from technology licenses, collaborative research and development arrangements, and cost reimbursement contracts. Revenue under technology licenses and collaborative agreements typically consists of nonrefundable and/or guaranteed technology license fees, collaborative research funding, and various milestone and product royalty or profit-sharing payments.

 

Revenue associated with up-front license fees, and research and development funding payments under collaborative agreements is recognized ratably over the relevant periods specified in the agreement, generally the research and development period. If the time period is not defined in the agreement, we calculate the revenue recognition period based on our current estimate of the research and development period considering experience with similar projects, level of effort and the stage of development. Should there be a change in our estimate of the research and development period, we will revise the term over which the initial payment is recognized. Revenue from substantive at-risk milestones and future product royalties is recognized as earned based on the completion of the milestones and product sales, as defined in the respective agreements. Revenue under cost reimbursement contracts is recognized as the related costs are incurred. Payments received in advance of recognition as revenue are recorded as deferred revenue.

 

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In November 2002, the Emerging Issues Task Force issued EITF 00-21, Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables, which addresses certain aspects of the accounting for arrangements that involve the delivery or performance of multiple products, services and/or rights to use assets. Under EITF 00-21, revenue arrangements with multiple deliverables should be divided into separate units of accounting if the deliverables meet certain criteria, including whether the delivered items have a stand-alone value for the customer and whether there is evidence of fair value of the undelivered items. In addition, the total consideration should be allocated among the separate units of accounting based on their fair values and the applicable revenue recognition criteria should be considered separately for each of the separate units of accounting. We have adopted EITF 00-21 as of July 1, 2003, and will apply its provisions for all revenue arrangements we enter into on or after this date. The adoption of EITF 00-21 did not have a material impact on our revenue recognition accounting policies, financial position or result of operations. We will continue to evaluate the impact of EITF 00-21 as we enter into new revenue arrangements in the future.

 

Inventory

 

Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using a weighted-average method. Finished goods inventory consists of our FDA and EMEA approved pharmaceutical drug, TRISENOX. We also record an allowance for inventory that may expire and become unsaleable due to the expiration of shelf life. In estimating inventory obsolescence reserves, we analyze (i) the shelf life and the expiration date, (ii) sales forecasts and (iii) inventory levels compared to forecasted usage. Judgment is required in determining whether the forecasted sales and usage information is sufficiently reliable to enable us to estimate inventory obsolescence reserve.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

Research and development expenses include related salaries and benefits, clinical trial and related clinical manufacturing costs, contract and other outside service fees, and facilities and overhead costs. Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred for proprietary and collaboration research and development and also include activities such as product registries and investigator sponsored trials. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. In instances where we enter into agreements with third parties for research, clinical trial, and related clinical trial manufacturing costs, costs are expensed upon the earlier of when non-refundable amounts are due or as services are performed. Amounts due under such arrangements may be either fixed fee or fee for service, and may include upfront payments, monthly payments, and payments upon the completion of milestones or receipt of deliverables.

 

Derivative Financial Instruments

 

We are subject to risks associated with fluctuations in the LIBOR interest rate from lease payments on our leased aircraft. Our policy is to hedge a portion of these forecasted transactions through an interest rate swap agreement. This swap agreement has been designated as a cash flow hedge. The portion of the net gain or loss on the derivative instrument that is effective as a hedge is reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss in shareholders’ deficit and is reclassified into earnings in the same period during which the hedged transaction affects earnings. The remaining net gain or loss on the derivative in excess of the present value of the expected cash flows of the hedged transaction is recorded in earnings immediately. If a derivative does not qualify for hedge accounting, or a portion of the hedge is deemed ineffective, the change in fair value is recorded in earnings. The swap was perfectly effective at March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003. We do not enter into forward agreements for trading purposes.

 

Purchase Price Allocation

 

The purchase price for Novuspharma S.p.A. was allocated to the tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the acquisition date of January 1, 2004. An independent third-party valuation firm was engaged to assist in determining the fair values of in-process research and development, identifiable intangible assets, and certain property, plant, and equipment. Such a valuation requires significant estimates and assumptions including but not limited to: determining the timing and expected costs to complete the in-process projects, projecting regulatory approvals, estimating future cash flows from product sales resulting from in-process projects, and developing appropriate discount rates and probability rates by project. We believe the fair values assigned to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed are based on reasonable assumptions. However, these assumptions may be incomplete or inaccurate, and unanticipated events and circumstances may occur. Additionally, estimates for the purchase price allocation may change as subsequent information becomes available.

 

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Three months ended March 31, 2004 and 2003.

 

Product sales. TRISENOX is our pharmaceutical grade arsenic product that has been approved by the FDA and EMEA to treat patients with relapsed or refractory APL. We recorded net product sales of approximately $3.9 million and $4.3 million for TRISENOX for the three months ended March 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively. The overall decrease in net sales is primarily due to a technical error made by Center for Medicare Services, or CMS, stating a payment rate of $2.81/mg for TRISENOX when administered in a physician’s office versus the correct rate of $32.94/mg. This delayed physicians and patients from receiving accurate approved reimbursement for the product. Following several inquiries from our congressional delegates regarding the CMS error, the correct payment rate was published in early February 2004. The decrease in net sales is also due in part to additional wholesaler purchases in the fourth quarter of 2003 resulting from an anticipated price increase that occurred in December 2003. Based on recent demand data from IMS Healthcare, we anticipate product demand to increase with overall net sales for 2004 being substantially higher than 2003.

 

License and contract revenue. In October 2001, we entered into a licensing agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., or Chugai, for the development and commercialization of XYOTAX. Upon execution of the agreement, Chugai paid us a $3.0 million initial payment, which we recorded as deferred revenue and which is being recognized as revenue over the estimated development period of approximately seven years on a straight-line basis. In December 2002, we entered into a distribution agreement with Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd., or Nippon, for the distribution and commercialization of TRISENOX. We received $750,000 upon execution of the agreement which we recorded as deferred revenue and which is being recognized as revenue over the performance period of approximately eighteen months on a straight-line basis.

 

For each of the three month periods ended March 31, 2004 and 2003, we recognized approximately $0.6 million of license and contract revenue, of which approximately $0.3 million related to cost reimbursements for development expenses received from Chugai and approximately $0.3 million related to the amortization of the initial payments from Chugai and Nippon.

 

Cost of product sold. The cost of product sold during the three months ended March 31, 2004 and 2003 was approximately $152,000 and $146,000, respectively. Our gross margins have remained consistent over the periods. Cost of product sold consists primarily of manufacturing costs, allowances for excess inventory that may expire and become unsaleable, and royalties paid on product sales. We expect product costs in the future to continue to approximate a small percentage of product sales.

 

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Research and development expenses. Our research and development expenses for compounds under development and discovery research are as follows (in thousands):

 

     Three Months Ended
March 31,


     2004

   2003

Compounds under development:

             

XYOTAX

   $ 14,525    $ 12,013

Pixantrone

     1,709      —  

TRISENOX

     1,667      926

Other compounds

     262      180

Operating expenses

     8,072      4,634

Discovery research

     2,672      2,875
    

  

Total research and development expenses

   $ 28,907    $ 20,628
    

  

 

Costs for compounds under development include external direct expenses such as principal investigator fees, clinical research organization charges and contract manufacturing fees incurred for preclinical, clinical, manufacturing and regulatory activities associated with preparing the compounds for submissions of new drug applications to the FDA, EMEA or similar regulatory filings with agencies outside the U.S. Operating costs include our personnel and occupancy expenses associated with developing these compounds. Discovery research costs include primarily personnel, occupancy, and laboratory expenses associated with the discovery and identification of new drug targets and lead compounds. We do not allocate operating costs to the individual compounds under development as our accounting system does not track these costs by individual compound. As a result, we are not able to capture the total cost of each compound. Direct external costs incurred to date for XYOTAX, TRISENOX and pixantrone are $122.3 million, $19.8 million and $1.7 million, respectively. Costs for pixantrone prior to our merger with Novuspharma in January 2004 are excluded from this amount.

 

Research and development expenses increased to approximately $28.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2004, from approximately $20.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2003. Approximately $5.3 million of this increase is due to costs related to CTI (Europe) which consist primarily of approximately $3.0 million in operating expenses, $1.7 million for pixantrone and $0.5 million for discovery research. Costs for our XYOTAX program increased primarily due to a $1.5 million up-front payment to the GOG in connection with a clinical trials agreement entered into during March 2004 and additional costs of approximately $0.9 million associated with the execution of our three phase III clinical trials and other clinical trials. TRISENOX costs increased approximately $0.7 million primarily as a result of an increase in investigator sponsored trials and regulatory activities. Operating expenses, excluding CTI (Europe) costs of approximately $3.0 million, increased by approximately $0.5 million primarily due to increased personnel and occupancy costs related to our expanded development plans for XYOTAX, TRISENOX and CT-2106. Costs for discovery research, excluding $0.5 million for CTI (Europe), decreased primarily as a result of the dissolution of PanGenex during the first quarter of 2004 and decreased personnel and occupancy costs associated with the termination of certain employees in connection with our merger with Novuspharma. We anticipate increased research and development expenses during 2004 in connection with our clinical development plans for XYOTAX, pixantrone, TRISENOX and our other products. Research and development costs may also increase as a result of restructuring charges to be incurred in connection with our plan to vacate certain excess laboratory facilities during 2004 due to our integration with Novuspharma.

 

Our lead drug candidates, XYOTAX, pixantrone and TRISENOX for indications other than relapsed or refractory APL, are currently in clinical trials. Many drugs in human clinical trials fail to demonstrate the desired safety and efficacy characteristics. Even if our drugs progress successfully through initial human testing, they may fail in later stages of development. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical industry, including us, have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials, even after reporting promising results in earlier trials. Regulatory agencies, including the FDA and EMEA, regulate many aspects of a product candidate’s life cycle, including research and development and pre-clinical and clinical testing. We or regulatory authorities may suspend clinical trials at any time on the basis that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks. Completion of clinical trials depends on, among other things, the number of patients available for enrollment in a

 

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particular trial, which is a function of many factors, including the availability and proximity of patients with the relevant condition. We rely on third parties to conduct clinical trials, which may result in delays or failure to complete trials if the third parties fail to perform or meet applicable standards. Many of our drug candidates are still in research and preclinical development, which means that they have not yet been tested on humans. We will need to commit significant time and resources to develop these and additional product candidates.

 

Our products will be successful only if:

 

  our product candidates are developed to a stage that will enable us to commercialize them or sell related marketing rights to pharmaceutical companies;

 

  we are able to commercialize product candidates in clinical development or sell the marketing rights to third parties; and

 

  our product candidates, if developed, are approved.

 

We will be dependent on the successful completion of these goals in order to generate revenues. The failure to generate such revenues may preclude us from continuing our research and development of these and other product candidates. We also enter into collaboration agreements for the development and commercialization of our product candidates. We cannot control the amount and timing of resources our collaborators devote to product candidates, which may also result in delays in the development or marketing of products.

 

Because of these risks and uncertainties, we cannot accurately predict when or whether we will successfully complete the development of our product candidates or the ultimate product development cost. Based on our current development plans, we anticipate launching XYOTAX for NSCLC in 2005. If this launch is successful, we would expect to receive significant cash inflows in 2005 from this compound. Based on development plans for pixantrone, an NDA is targeted for submission to the FDA in late 2005 or early 2006, with an estimated launch date of pixantrone for aggressive NHL in 2006. If this launch is successful, significant cash inflows are expected in 2006.

 

With the exception of TRISENOX, we anticipate that we will not generate revenue from the sale of commercial drugs for at least a couple of years, if ever. Without revenue generated from commercial sales, we anticipate that funding to support our ongoing research, development and general operations will primarily come from public or private equity financings, collaborations, milestones and licensing opportunities from current or future collaborators.

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased to approximately $20.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2004, from approximately $13.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2003. This increase is primarily attributed to additional sales and marketing costs of approximately $2.2 million mainly related to our expanded commercialization efforts of TRISENOX in both the US and EU, approximately $1.8 million in stock-based compensation charges, approximately $1.3 million of costs related to CTI (Europe) operations, approximately $1.1 million of additional operating, personnel and occupancy costs associated with supporting our research, development and marketing activities and approximately $0.4 million in increased corporate development expenses. We expect selling, general and administrative expenses to increase in the future to support our expected increase in research, development and commercialization efforts. Additionally, due to the variable accounting treatment of certain stock options, fluctuations in quoted prices for our common stock may result in unpredictable and potentially significant charges or credits to our stock-based compensation.

 

Acquired in-process research and development. Acquired in-process research and development relates to a one-time non cash charge recorded in connection with our acquisition of Novuspharma in January 2004. This balance represents the estimated fair value of purchased technology that had not reached technological feasibility at the effective time of the merger.

 

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Amortization of purchased intangibles. Amortization for the three months ended March 31, 2004 increased to approximately $578,000 from approximately $334,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2003, due to amortization of assembled workforce acquired as part of the acquisition of Novuspharma in January 2004.

 

Investment income. Investment income decreased to approximately $519,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2004 from approximately $654,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2003. This decrease is attributed to a lower average securities available-for-sale balance and lower prevailing interest rates during the three months ended March 31, 2004 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2003.

 

Interest and other expense. Interest and other expense increased to approximately $3.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2004 from approximately $1.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2003. The increase is primarily due to the issuance of $75.0 million principal amount of our 4% convertible senior subordinated notes in June 2003. The increase is also due in part to a $0.5 million foreign exchange loss resulting from fluctuations of foreign currency exchange rates.

 

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

 

As of March 31, 2004, we had approximately $132.9 million in cash, cash equivalents, securities available-for-sale and interest receivable.

 

Net cash used in operating activities increased to approximately $42.6 million during the three months ended March 31, 2004, compared to approximately $25.2 million for the same period during 2003. The increase in net cash used in operating activities during the three months ended March 31, 2004, as compared to the same period in 2003, was primarily due to the increase in our net loss offset by a non-cash charge related to acquired in-process research and development resulting from our acquisition of Novuspharma.

 

We expect the amount of net cash used in operating activities in 2004 to increase over the amount of net cash used in 2003 due to our acquisition of Novuspharma in addition to anticipated progress in our phase III clinical trials for XYOTAX and pixantrone and phase II clinical trials for both pixantrone and CT-2106. The extent of cash flow used in operating activities will be significantly affected by our ability to in-license or acquire rights to other products, or increase TRISENOX sales.

 

Net cash provided by investing activities totaled approximately $132.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2004, compared to approximately $18.4 million for the same period during 2003. The increase in net cash provided by investing activities during the three months ended March 31, 2004, as compared to the same period in 2003, was primarily due to cash acquired through our acquisition of Novuspharma in January 2004 and a decrease in purchases of securities available-for-sale offset by a decrease in proceeds from maturities of securities available-for-sale.

 

In February 2004, we filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that will allow us to offer up to $75.0 million of our common stock at any time over the next several years.

 

We expect to generate losses from operations for the next couple of years due to substantial additional research and development costs, including costs related to clinical trials, increased sales and marketing expenditures and costs associated with the integration of CTI (Europe) into CTI . We expect that our existing capital resources will enable us to maintain our current operations through the first half of 2005; however, to fully fund ongoing and planned activities, we believe we will need to raise additional funds through equity financings, partnerships or other sources. In addition, our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

 

  success of our sales and marketing efforts;

 

  success in acquiring complementary products, technologies or businesses;

 

  success in the integration of CTI (Europe) into CTI;

 

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  progress in and scope of our research and development activities; and

 

  competitive market developments.

 

Future capital requirements will also depend on the extent to which we acquire or invest in businesses, products and technologies. If we should require additional financing due to unanticipated developments, additional financing may not be available when needed or, if available, we may not be able to obtain this financing on terms favorable to us or to our shareholders. Insufficient funds may require us to delay, scale back or eliminate some or all of our research and development programs, or may adversely affect our ability to operate as a going concern. If additional funds are raised by issuing equity securities, substantial dilution to existing shareholders may result.

 

The following table includes information relating to our contractual obligations as of March 31, 2004 (in thousands):

 

     Payments Due by Period

Contractual Obligations


   Total

   1 Year

   2-3 Years

   4-5 Years

   After 5
Years


5.75% Convertible senior subordinated notes (1) notes

   $ 85,459    $ —      $ —      $ 85,459    $ —  

4.0% Convertible senior subordinated notes (2)

     75,000      —        —        —        75,000

5.75% Convertible subordinated notes (3)

     29,640      —        —        29,640      —  

Interest on convertible and convertible senior subordinated notes

     48,988      9,618      19,237      15,633      4,500

Operating leases:

                                  

Facilities

     54,042      8,625      17,441      11,955      16,021

Aircraft

     14,293      1,927      3,854      3,854      4,658

Long-term debt (4)

     5,308      1,798      1,637      950      923

Payment related to PolaRx acquisition

     123      123      —        —        —  
    

  

  

  

  

     $ 312,853    $ 22,091    $ 42,169    $ 147,491    $ 101,102
    

  

  

  

  


(1) The 5.75% convertible senior subordinated notes are convertible into shares of CTI common stock at a conversion rate of 100 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the notes, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of $10.00 per share.
(2) The 4.0% convertible senior subordinated notes are convertible into shares of CTI common stock at a conversion rate of 74.0741 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the notes, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $13.50 per share.
(3) The 5.75% convertible subordinated notes are convertible into shares of CTI common stock at a conversion rate of 29.4118 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the notes, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $34.00 per share.
(4) Long-term debt does not include $1.3 million recorded as a long-term obligation related to employees’ leaving entitlements for our Italian employees pursuant to Italian Law. The timing of the payments related to this obligation is unknown as the entitlements are paid upon an employees’ departure from the Company for whatever reason.

 

The remaining amount of milestone payments we may be required to pay pursuant to the agreement with PG-TXL Company L.P. is $15.5 million. We may also be required to make an additional payout in future years based on a 2% royalty on total net sales, payable in cash or common stock at the then fair market value of our stock, related to the PolaRx acquisition contingent upon achieving sales of TRISENOX in excess of $40 million for any calendar year.

 

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Risk Factors

 

Factors Affecting Our Operating Results and Financial Condition

 

This quarterly report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks faced by us described below and elsewhere in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q.

 

The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing our company. Additional risks and uncertainties that we do not presently know or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects. If any of the following risks actually occur, they could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results or prospects. In that case, the trading price of our securities could decline.

 

We expect to continue to incur net losses, and we might never achieve profitability.

 

We were incorporated in 1991 and have incurred a net operating loss every year. As of March 31, 2004, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $606.9 million. We may never become profitable, even if we are able to commercialize additional products. We will need to conduct significant research, development, testing and regulatory compliance activities that, together with projected general and administrative expenses, we expect will result in substantial increasing operating losses for at least the next couple of years. Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis.

 

If we do not successfully develop additional products, we may be unable to generate significant revenue or become profitable.

 

We have only one product, TRISENOX, for relapsed or refractory APL that has received marketing approval to date. Our leading drug candidates, TRISENOX for other indications, XYOTAX, pixantrone and CT-2106, are currently in clinical trials and may not be successful. Even if our drugs progress successfully through initial human testing, they may fail in later stages of development. Many drugs in human clinical trials fail to demonstrate the desired safety and efficacy characteristics. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical industry, including us, have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials, even after reporting promising results in earlier trials. For example, in our first phase III human trial for lisofylline, completed in March 1998, we failed to meet our two primary endpoints, or goals, even though we met our endpoints in two earlier phase II trials for lisofylline. As a result, we are no longer developing lisofylline as a potential product. Many of our drug candidates are still in research and pre-clinical development, which means that they have not yet been tested on humans. We will need to commit significant time and resources to develop these and additional product candidates. Our product candidates will be successful only if:

 

  our product candidates are developed to a stage that will enable us to commercialize them or sell related marketing rights to pharmaceutical companies;

 

  we are able to commercialize product candidates in clinical development or sell the marketing rights to third parties; and

 

  our product candidates, if developed, are approved by the regulatory authorities.

 

We are dependent on the successful completion of these goals in order to generate revenues. The failure to generate such revenues may preclude us from continuing our research and development of these and other product candidates.

 

We may need to raise additional funds in the future, and they may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all.

 

We expect that our existing capital resources will enable us to maintain our current operations through the first half of 2005; however, to fully fund ongoing and planned activities, we believe we will need to raise additional funds. We expect to receive certain grants and subsidized loans from the Italian

 

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government and the EU through our Italian branch into which CTI (Europe)’s operating assets and liabilities will be contributed. However, we may not receive the relevant funding because the grants and subsidies are awarded at the discretion of the relevant authorities.

 

If our plans or assumptions change or are inaccurate, it will affect the amount of additional funds we will need to raise to continue the development of our technologies and complete the commercialization of products, if any, resulting from our technologies. We may raise such capital through public or private equity financings, partnerships, debt financings, bank borrowings or other sources.

 

Additional funding may not be available on favorable terms or at all. If adequate funds are not otherwise available, we may curtail operations significantly, including the delay, modification or cancellation of research and development programs aimed at bringing new products to market. To obtain additional funding, we may need to enter into arrangements that require us to relinquish rights to certain technologies, drug candidates, products and/or potential markets. To the extent that additional capital is raised through the sale of equity, or securities convertible into equity, you may experience dilution of your proportionate ownership of us.

 

Our operations in Italy make us subject to increased risk regarding currency exchange rate fluctuations.

 

As a result of our merger with Novuspharma and our consequent operations in Italy, we are exposed to risks associated with foreign currency transactions insofar as we might desire to use U.S. dollars to make contract payments denominated in Euros or vice versa. As the net positions of our foreign currency transactions might fluctuate, our earnings might be negatively affected. In addition, as a result of our merger with Novuspharma, we are exposed to risks associated with the translation of Novuspharma’s Euro-denominated financial results and balance sheet into United States dollars. Our reporting currency will remain as the United States dollar, however, a portion of our consolidated financial obligations will arise in Euros. In addition, the carrying value of some of our assets and liabilities will be affected by fluctuations in the value of the United States dollar as compared to the Euro. Changes in the value of the United States dollar as compared to the Euro might have an adverse effect on our reported results of operations and financial condition.

 

We may take longer to complete our clinical trials than we expect, or we may not be able to complete them at all.

 

Before regulatory approval for any potential product can be obtained, we must undertake extensive clinical testing on humans to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the product. Although for planning purposes we forecast the commencement and completion of clinical trials, the actual timing of these events can vary dramatically due to a number of factors.

 

We may not obtain authorization to permit product candidates that are already in the pre-clinical development phase to enter the human clinical testing phase. Authorized pre-clinical or clinical testing may not be completed successfully within any specified time period by us, or without significant additional resources or expertise to those originally expected to be necessary. Many drugs in human clinical trials fail to demonstrate the desired safety and efficacy characteristics. Clinical testing may not show potential products to be safe and efficacious and potential products may not be approved for a specific indication. Further, the results from pre-clinical studies and early clinical trials may not be indicative of the results that will be obtained in later-stage clinical trials. Data obtained from clinical trials are susceptible to varying interpretations. Government regulators and our collaborators may not agree with our interpretation of our future clinical trial results. In addition, we or regulatory authorities may suspend clinical trials at any time on the basis that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks or for other reasons. Completion of clinical trials depends on, among other things, the number of patients available for enrollment in a particular trial, which is a function of many factors, including the number of patients with the relevant conditions, the nature of the clinical testing, the proximity of patients to clinical testing centers, the eligibility criteria for tests as well as competition with other clinical testing programs involving the same patient profile but different treatments.

 

We have limited experience in conducting clinical trials. We expect to continue to rely on third parties, such as contract research organizations, academic institutions and/or co-operative groups, to conduct, oversee and monitor clinical trials as well as to process the clinical results and manage test requests, which may result in delays or failure to complete trials, if the third parties fail to perform or to meet the applicable standards.

 

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If we fail to commence or complete, or experience delays in any of our present or planned clinical trials, including the Phase III clinical trials of XYOTAX, the Phase II clinical trials of TRISENOX and the Phase II and Phase III clinical trials of pixantrone, our ability to conduct our business as planned could be harmed. Our development costs may increase if we experience any future delays in our clinical trials for XYOTAX, TRISENOX, pixantrone or our other product candidates or if we need to perform more or larger clinical trials than planned. If delays or costs are significant, our financial results and our ability to commercialize our product candidates may be adversely affected.

 

Even if our drug candidates are successful in clinical trials, we may not be able to successfully commercialize them.

 

Since our inception in 1991, we have dedicated substantially all of our resources to the research and development of our technologies and related compounds. With the exception of TRISENOX for patients with APL who have relapsed or failed standard therapies, all of our compounds currently are in research or development, and none has been submitted for marketing approval. Our other compounds may not enter human clinical trials on a timely basis, if at all, and we may not develop any product candidates suitable for commercialization.

 

Prior to commercialization, each product candidate will require significant additional research, development and pre-clinical testing and extensive clinical investigation before submission of any regulatory application for marketing approval. The development of anti-cancer drugs, including those we are currently developing, is unpredictable and subject to numerous risks. Potential products that appear to be promising at early stages of development may not reach the market for a number of reasons including that they may:

 

  be found ineffective or cause harmful side effects during pre-clinical testing or clinical trials;

 

  fail to receive necessary regulatory approvals;

 

  be difficult to manufacture on a scale necessary for commercialization;

 

  be uneconomical to produce;

 

  fail to achieve market acceptance; or

 

  be precluded from commercialization by proprietary rights of third parties.

 

The occurrence of any of these events could adversely affect the commercialization of our products. Any products, if introduced, may not be successfully marketed and/or may not achieve customer acceptance. If we fail to commercialize products or if our future products do not achieve significant market acceptance, we will not likely generate significant revenues or become profitable.

 

If we fail to establish and maintain collaborations or if our partners do not perform, we may be unable to develop and commercialize our product candidates.

 

We have entered into collaborative arrangements with third parties to develop and/or commercialize product candidates and are currently seeking additional collaborations. For example, we have entered into an agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to develop and commercialize XYOTAX in several Asian markets. Additional collaborations might be necessary in order for us to fund our research and development activities and third-party manufacturing arrangements, seek and obtain regulatory approvals and successfully commercialize our existing and future product candidates. If we fail to enter into additional collaborative arrangements or fail to maintain our existing collaborative arrangements, the number of product candidates from which we could receive future revenues would decline.

 

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Our dependence on collaborative arrangements with third parties will subject us to a number of risks that could harm our ability to develop and commercialize products, including that:

 

  collaborative arrangements may not be on terms favorable to us;

 

  disagreements with partners may result in delays in the development and marketing of products, termination of our collaboration agreements or time consuming and expensive legal action;

 

  we cannot control the amount and timing of resources partners devote to product candidates or their prioritization of product candidates and partners may not allocate sufficient funds or resources to the development, promotion or marketing of our products, or may not perform their obligations as expected;

 

  partners may choose to develop, independently or with other companies, alternative products or treatments, including products or treatments which compete with ours;

 

  agreements with partners may expire or be terminated without renewal, or partners may breach collaboration agreements with us;

 

  business combinations or significant changes in a partner’s business strategy might adversely affect that partner’s willingness or ability to complete its obligations to us; and

 

  the terms and conditions of the relevant agreements may no longer be suitable.

 

The occurrence of any of these events could adversely affect the development or commercialization of our products.

 

Because we base several of our drug candidates on unproven novel technologies, we may never develop them into commercial products.

 

We base many of our product candidates upon novel delivery technologies that we are using to discover and develop drugs for the treatment of cancer. These technologies have not been proven. Furthermore, pre-clinical results in animal studies may not predict outcomes in human clinical trials. Our product candidates may not be proven safe or effective. If these technologies do not work, our drug candidates may not develop into commercial products.

 

We may face difficulties in achieving acceptance of our products in the market if we do not continue to expand our sales and marketing infrastructure.

 

We currently are marketing TRISENOX with our direct sales force. Competition for these individuals is intense, and in the event we need additional sales personnel, we may not be able to hire individuals with the experience required or number of sales personnel we need. In addition, if we market and sell products other than TRISENOX, we may need to further expand our marketing and sales force with sufficient technical expertise and distribution capacity. If we are unable to expand our direct sales operations and train new sales personnel as rapidly as necessary, we may not be able to increase market awareness and sales of our products, which may prevent us from growing our revenues and achieving and maintaining profitability.

 

If any of our license agreements for intellectual property underlying TRISENOX, XYOTAX, pixantrone or any other products are terminated, we may lose our rights to develop or market that product.

 

We have licensed intellectual property, including patent applications from The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, Dr. Daopei Lu of the Beijing Medical University, The University of Vermont, Hoffman La Roche and others, including the intellectual property relating to TRISENOX, other arsenic applications and pixantrone. We have also in-licensed the intellectual property relating to our drug delivery technology that uses polymers that are linked to drugs, known as polymer-drug conjugates, including XYOTAX and CT-2106. Some of our product development programs depend on our ability to maintain rights under these licenses. Each licensor has the power to

 

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terminate its agreement with us if we fail to meet our obligations under these licenses. We may not be able to meet our obligations under these licenses. If we default under any license agreements, we may lose our right to market and sell any products based on the licensed technology.

 

If we fail to protect adequately our intellectual property, our competitive position could be harmed.

 

Development and protection of our intellectual property are critical to our business. If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property, competitors may be able to practice our technologies. Our success depends in part on our ability to:

 

  obtain patent protection for our products or processes both in the United States and other countries;

 

  protect trade secrets; and

 

  prevent others from infringing on our proprietary rights.

 

When polymers are linked, or conjugated, to drugs, the results are referred to as polymer-drug conjugates. We are developing drug delivery technology that links chemotherapy drugs to biodegradable polymers. For example, XYOTAX is paclitaxel, the active ingredient in Taxol®, one of the world’s best selling cancer drugs, linked to polyglutamate. We may not receive a patent for our polymer-drug conjugates and we may be challenged by the holder of a patent covering the underlying drug.

 

The patent position of biopharmaceutical firms generally is highly uncertain and involves complex legal and factual questions. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has not established a consistent policy regarding the breadth of claims that it will allow in biotechnology patents. If it allows broad claims, the number and cost of patent interference proceedings in the United States, and the risk of infringement litigation may increase. If it allows narrow claims, the risk of infringement may decrease, but the value of our rights under our patents, licenses and patent applications may also decrease. Patent applications in which we have rights may never issue as patents and the claims of any issued patents may not afford meaningful protection for our technologies or products. We currently have patent properties directed to all approved uses for TRISENOX, however we have no patent claims covering the composition itself. In addition, patents issued to us or our licensors may be challenged and subsequently narrowed, invalidated or circumvented. Litigation, interference proceedings or other governmental proceedings that we may become involved in with respect to our proprietary technologies or the proprietary technology of others could result in substantial cost to us. Patent litigation is widespread in the biotechnology industry, and any patent litigation could harm our business. Costly litigation might be necessary to protect our orphan drug designations in the United States or EU, which are designations for products meeting criteria based on the size of the potential United States or EU patient population for a drug, respectively, and which entitle that drug to seven years of exclusive rights in the United States market or ten years in the EU market, as applicable, or to protect a patent position or to determine the scope and validity of third party proprietary rights, and we may not have the required resources to pursue any such litigation or to protect our patent rights. Any adverse outcome in litigation with respect to the infringement or validity of any patents owned by third parties could subject us to significant liabilities to third parties, require disputed rights to be licensed from third parties or require us to cease using a product or technology.

 

We also rely upon trade secrets, proprietary know-how and continuing technological innovation to remain competitive. Third parties may independently develop such know-how or otherwise obtain access to our technology. While we require our employees, consultants and corporate partners with access to proprietary information to enter into confidentiality agreements, these agreements may not be honored.

 

Our products could infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, which may cause us to engage in costly litigation and, if we are not successful, could cause us to pay substantial damages and prohibit us from selling our products.

 

We attempt to monitor the patent filings but have not conducted an exhaustive search for patents that may be relevant to our products and product candidates in an effort to guide the design and development of our products to avoid infringement. We may not be able to successfully challenge the validity of these patents and could have to pay substantial damages, possibly including treble damages,

 

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for past infringement and attorney’s fees if it is ultimately determined that our products infringe a third party’s patents. Further, we may be prohibited from selling our products before we obtain a license, which, if available at all, may require us to pay substantial royalties. Moreover, third parties may challenge the patents that have been issued or licensed to us. Even if infringement claims against us are without merit, or if we challenge the validity of issued patents, lawsuits take significant time, may be expensive and may divert management attention from other business concerns.

 

If we are unable to enter into new licensing arrangements, our future product portfolio and potential profitability could be harmed.

 

One component of our business strategy is in-licensing drug compounds developed by other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies or academic research laboratories. Substantially all of our product candidates in clinical development are in-licensed from a third party, including TRISENOX, XYOTAX and pixantrone. Competition for new promising compounds and commercial products can be intense. If we are not able to identify future in-licensing opportunities and enter into future licensing arrangements on acceptable terms, our future product portfolio and potential profitability could be harmed.

 

We may be unable to obtain the raw materials necessary to produce our XYOTAX product candidate in sufficient quantity to meet demand when and if such product is approved.

 

We may not be able to continue to purchase the materials necessary to produce XYOTAX, including paclitaxel, in adequate volume and quality. Paclitaxel is derived from certain varieties of yew trees. Supply of paclitaxel is controlled by a limited number of companies. We purchase the majority of the paclitaxel we need from a single vendor. We also purchase the raw material polyglutamic acid from a single source on a purchase order basis. Should the paclitaxel or polyglutamic acid purchased from our sources prove to be insufficient in quantity or quality, should a supplier fail to deliver in a timely fashion or at all, or should these relationships terminate, we may not be able to obtain a sufficient supply from alternate sources on acceptable terms, or at all.

 

Our dependence on third party manufacturers means that we do not always have sufficient control over the manufacture of our products.

 

We do not currently have internal facilities for the current Good Manufacturing Procedure, or cGMP, manufacture of any of our development or commercial products. In addition, TRISENOX, our first commercial product, is currently manufactured by a single vendor. In 2002, we began the process of qualifying an additional supplier for our finished product manufacturing for TRISENOX. This additional supplier received FDA approval to manufacture TRISENOX in June 2003. Because we do not directly control our suppliers, these vendors may not be able to provide us with finished product when we need it. Plans are in place to develop additional manufacturing resources, such as entering into collaborative arrangements with other parties that have established manufacturing capabilities or elect to have other additional third parties manufacture our products on a contract basis.

 

We will be dependent upon these third parties to supply us in a timely manner with products manufactured in compliance with cGMPs or similar manufacturing standards imposed by foreign regulatory authorities where our products will be tested and/or marketed. While the FDA and other regulatory authorities maintain oversight for cGMP compliance of drug manufacturers, contract manufacturers may at times violate cGMPs. The FDA and other regulatory authorities may take action against a contract manufacturer who violates cGMPs. Our current manufacturer for TRISENOX has recently been inspected by the FDA and is currently in the process of responding to FDA observations regarding its facility. As a result, the FDA could, among other things, shut down the operations of the manufacturer or disallow the manufacturer to ship product it currently holds. Either outcome could affect our operations.

 

Another one of our products under development, XYOTAX, has a complex manufacturing process, which may prevent us from obtaining a sufficient supply of drug product for the clinical trials and commercial activities currently planned or underway on a timely basis, if at all.

 

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We are subject to extensive government regulation, including the requirement of approval before our products may be marketed.

 

Regulatory agencies have approved only one of our products, TRISENOX, for sale in the United States and the EU, to treat patients with a type of blood cancer called APL who have relapsed or failed standard therapies. Before we can market TRISENOX for other indications in the United States or EU, we must obtain additional FDA approval and/or approval of the EMEA. Our other products are in development, and will have to be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed in the United States and by the EMEA before they can be marketed in the EU. Obtaining FDA or other national regulatory approval requires substantial time, effort and financial resources, and we may not obtain approval on a timely basis, if at all. If the FDA or the EMEA do not approve our developmental products and any additional indications for marketed products in a timely fashion, or does not approve them at all, or withdraws the approval or otherwise restricts the marketing of our sole approved product, TRISENOX, our business and financial condition may be adversely affected.

 

In addition, we and our currently marketed product and our product candidates are subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA and the EMEA. Regulation by the FDA and EMEA begins before approval for marketing is granted and continues during the life of each product. For example, TRISENOX was approved for its current indication by the FDA following fast track review process and by the EMEA “under exceptional circumstances,” and we committed to completing several post-approval requirements to both the FDA and the EMEA, including the conduct of additional clinical studies. If we fail to fulfill these obligations, the FDA or EMEA may withdraw approval of TRISENOX. In addition, the FDA and other regulatory authorities regulate, for example, research and development, including pre-clinical and clinical testing, safety, effectiveness, manufacturing, labeling, advertising, promotion, export, and marketing of our products. Manufacturing processes must conform to cGMPs. The FDA and other regulatory authorities periodically inspect manufacturing facilities to assess compliance with cGMPs. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort to maintain compliance. TRISENOX is prescribed by physicians largely for uses not approved by the FDA. Although physicians may prescribe pharmaceutical products, such as TRISENOX, for such off-label uses, promotion by us of such off-label uses would be unlawful. Regulatory authorities could take enforcement action against us if they believe that we are promoting TRISENOX for off-label use. Failure to comply with regulatory requirements could result in various adverse consequences, including possible delay in approval or refusal to approve a product, recalls, seizures, withdrawal of an approved product from the market, and/or the imposition of civil or criminal sanctions.

 

Additionally, we are subject to numerous regulations and statutes regulating the manner of selling and obtaining reimbursement for our products that receive marketing approval. For example, federal statutes generally prohibit providing certain discounts and payments to physicians to encourage them to prescribe our product. Violations of such regulations or statutes may result in treble damages, criminal or civil penalties, fines or exclusion of CTI or its employees from participation in federal and state health care programs. Although we have policies prohibiting violations of relevant regulations and statutes, unauthorized actions of our employees or consultants, or unfavorable interpretations of such regulations or statutes may result in third parties or regulatory agencies bringing legal proceedings or enforcement actions against us.

 

As a result of our merger with Novuspharma, we are required to comply with the regulatory structure of Italy, which could result in administrative challenges.

 

As a result of our merger with Novuspharma, our operations now need to comply not only with applicable laws of and rules of the United States, including Washington law and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nasdaq National Market, but also the EU legal system and the Republic of Italy, including the rules and regulations of CONSOB and Borsa Italiana, which collectively regulate companies listed on Italy’s public markets such as the Nuovo Mercato. Conducting our operations in a manner that complies with all applicable laws and rules will require us to devote additional time and resources to regulatory compliance matters. For example, the process of seeking to understand and comply with the laws of each country, including tax, labor and regulatory laws, might require us to incur the expense of engaging additional outside counsel, accountants and other professional advisors and might result in delayed business initiatives as we seek to ensure that each new initiative will comply with all regulatory regimes.

 

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As a result of our merger with Novuspharma, we are subject to new legal duties and additional political and economic risks related to our operations in Italy.

 

As a result of our merger with Novuspharma, a portion of our business is based in Italy. We are subject to duties and risks arising from doing business in Italy, such as:

 

  Italian employment law, including collective bargaining agreements negotiated at the national level and over which we have no control;

 

  EU data protection regulations, under which we will be unable to send private personal data, including many employment records and some clinical trial data, from our Italian offices to our United States offices until our United States offices self-certify their adherence to the safe harbor framework established by the United States Department of Commerce in consultation with the European Commission;

 

  tariffs, customs, duties and other trade barriers; and

 

  capital controls, terrorism and other political risks.

 

These risks related to doing business in Italy could harm the results of our operations.

 

Uncertainty regarding third party reimbursement and health care cost containment initiatives may limit our returns.

 

The ongoing efforts of governmental and third party payors to contain or reduce the cost of health care may affect our ability to commercialize our products successfully. Governmental and other third party payors are increasingly attempting to contain health care costs by:

 

  challenging the prices charged for health care products and services;

 

  limiting both coverage and the amount of reimbursement for new therapeutic products;

 

  denying or limiting coverage for products that are approved by the FDA but are considered experimental or investigational by third-party payors;

 

  refusing in some cases to provide coverage when an approved product is used for disease indications in a way that has not received FDA marketing approval; and

 

  denying coverage altogether.

 

The trend toward managed health care in the United States, the growth of organizations such as health maintenance organizations, and legislative proposals to reform healthcare and government insurance programs could significantly influence the purchase of healthcare services and products, resulting in lower prices and reducing demand for our products. In addition, in almost all European markets, pricing and choice of prescription pharmaceuticals are subject to governmental control. Therefore, the price of our products and their reimbursement in Europe will be determined by national regulatory authorities.

 

Even if we succeed in bringing any of our proposed products to the market, they may not be considered cost-effective and third party reimbursement might not be available or sufficient. If adequate third party coverage is not available, we may not be able to maintain price levels sufficient to realize an appropriate return on our investment in research and product development. In addition, legislation and regulations affecting the pricing of pharmaceuticals may change in ways adverse to us before or after any of our proposed products are approved for marketing. The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA), enacted last December, will affect reimbursement and purchases of prescription drugs, including cancer drugs. Implementation of the MMA and yet to be issued regulation could have an adverse impact on sales of prescription drugs. While we cannot predict whether any other legislative or regulatory proposals will be adopted, the adoption of other proposals could make it difficult or impossible to sell our products. TRISENOX has been reimbursed by third party payors, but there is no guarantee this reimbursement will continue.

 

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We face direct and intense competition from our competitors in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries and we may not compete successfully against them.

 

Competition in the oncology industry is intense and is accentuated by the rapid pace of technological development. We anticipate that we will face increased competition in the future as new companies enter our markets. Our competitors in the United States and elsewhere are numerous and include, among others, major multinational pharmaceutical companies, specialized biotechnology companies and universities and other research institutions. Specifically:

 

  If we are successful in bringing XYOTAX to market, we will face direct competition from oncology-focused multinational corporations. XYOTAX will compete with other taxanes, which are drugs that inhibit cell growth by stopping cell division and are widely used as treatments for cancer. Many oncology-focused multinational corporations currently market or are developing taxanes, epothilones, which inhibit cancer cells by a mechanism similar to taxanes, or similar products (including, among others, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., which markets paclitaxel, one of the best-selling cancer drugs, and Aventis, which markets docetaxel). In addition, several companies, including American Pharmaceutical Partners, NeoPharm Inc. and Sonus Pharmaceuticals are also developing novel taxanes and formulations which could compete with our products.

 

  In the hematology market, we hope to receive approval to market TRISENOX to larger indications than currently authorized. We will face competition from a number of biopharmaceutical companies, including:

 

  Celgene Corporation, which currently sells thalidomide used in the treatment of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, and is developing ImiDs;

 

  Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which recently launched Velcade® for treatment of multiple myeloma;

 

  Pharmion Corporation, which has signed an agreement with Celgene to expand internationally the marketing of thalidomide and is developing 5-Azacytidine for MDS also known as ‘smoldering’ leukemia or preleukemia, which are a group of diseases in which the bone marrow does not function normally, and insufficient numbers of mature blood cells are in circulation; and

 

  SuperGen Corporation, which is developing decitabine, which has been accepted for a rolling NDA submission by the FDA in MDS.

 

  Because pixantrone is intended to provide less toxic treatment to patients who have failed standard chemotherapy treatment, if pixantrone is brought to market, it is not expected to compete directly with many existing chemotherapy drugs. However, pixantrone will face competition from currently marketed anthracyclines, such as mitoxantrone (Novantrone®), and new anti-cancer drugs with reduced toxicity that may be developed and marketed, including vincristine sulfate liposome for injection, a product being developed by Inex Pharmaceuticals Corporation (“Inex”) that is currently in NDA review. In January 2004, Enzon Pharmaceuticals (“Enzon”) entered into a partnership with Inex in which Enzon received exclusive North American commercialization rights for Inex’s vincristine product for all indications.

 

Many of our competitors, either alone or together with their collaborators and in particular, the multinational pharmaceutical companies, have substantially greater financial resources and development and marketing teams than us. In addition, many of our competitors, either alone or together with their collaborators, have significantly greater experience than we do in developing, manufacturing and marketing products. As a result, these companies’ products might come to market sooner or might prove to be more effective, to be less expensive, to have fewer side effects or to be easier to administer than ours. In any such case, sales of our products or eventual products would likely suffer and we might never recoup the significant investments we are making to develop these product candidates.

 

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If we lose our key personnel or we are unable to attract and retain additional personnel, we may be unable to pursue collaborations or develop our own products.

 

We are highly dependent on Dr. James A. Bianco, our president and chief executive officer, Dr. Jack W. Singer, our chief medical officer and Silvano Spinelli, our executive vice president of development and managing director of European operations. The loss of any one of these principal members of our scientific or management staff, or failure to attract or retain other key scientific employees, could prevent us from pursuing collaborations or developing and commercializing our products and core technologies. Recruiting and retaining qualified scientific personnel to perform research and development work are critical to our success. There is intense competition for qualified scientists and managerial personnel from numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as from academic and government organizations, research institutions and other entities. In addition, we will rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our research and development strategy. All of our consultants and advisors will be employed by other employers or are self-employed, and will have commitments to or consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to us.

 

The integration of Novuspharma’s business and operations will be a challenging, complex, time-consuming and expensive process and may disrupt our business if not completed in a timely and efficient manner.

 

The challenges involved in the integration of Novuspharma include the following:

 

  effectively pursuing the clinical development and regulatory approvals of all product candidates while effectively marketing our current approved product (TRISENOX);

 

  successfully commercializing products under development and increasing revenues from TRISENOX;

 

  retaining certain existing strategic partners;

 

  retaining and integrating management and other key employees;

 

  coordinating research and development activities to enhance introduction of new products and technologies;

 

  integrating purchasing and procurement operations in multiple locations;

 

  maintaining an adequate level of liquidity to fund our continuing operations and expansion;

 

  integrating the business culture of Novuspharma with our culture and maintaining employee morale;

 

  transitioning all facilities to a common information technology system;

 

  developing and maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies relating to financial reporting and employment related matters that comply with both United States and Italian laws and regulations;

 

  maintaining adequate focus on the core business of the combined company while integrating operations;

 

  maintaining relationships with employees, strategic partners, manufacturers and suppliers while integrating management and other key personnel;

 

  realizing the benefits and synergies to the extent or in the time frame anticipated; and

 

  coping with unanticipated expenses related to integration.

 

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We may not succeed in addressing these challenges or any other problems encountered in connection with integration following the merger, which may be exacerbated by the geographic separation of our operations in the United States and in Italy. If management is not able to address these challenges, we may not achieve the anticipated benefits of the merger, which may have a material adverse effect on our business and could result in the loss of key personnel.

 

Our limited operating experience may cause us difficulty in managing our growth and could seriously harm our business.

 

As a result of additional trials for TRISENOX for indications other than relapsed or refractory APL and clinical trials currently underway for XYOTAX, pixantrone and our other products in development, we have expanded our operations in various areas, including our management, regulatory, clinical, financial and information systems and other elements of our business process infrastructure. We may need to add additional key personnel in these areas. In addition, as growth occurs, it may strain our operational, managerial and financial resources. We may not be able to increase revenues or control costs unless we continue to improve our operational, financial, regulatory and managerial systems and processes, and expand, train and manage our work force.

 

Because there is a risk of product liability associated with our products, we face potential difficulties in obtaining insurance.

 

Our business exposes us to potential product liability risks inherent in the testing, manufacturing and marketing of human pharmaceutical products, and we may not be able to avoid significant product liability exposure. While we have insurance covering product use in our clinical trials, and currently have product liability insurance for TRISENOX, it is possible that we will not be able to maintain such insurance on acceptable terms or that any insurance obtained will provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. Our inability to obtain sufficient insurance coverage at an acceptable cost or otherwise to protect against potential product liability claims could prevent or limit the commercialization of any products we develop. A successful product liability claim in excess of our insurance coverage could exceed our net worth.

 

Since we use hazardous materials in our business, we may be subject to claims relating to improper handling, storage or disposal of these materials.

 

Our research and development activities involve the controlled use of hazardous materials, chemicals and various radioactive compounds. We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of such materials and certain waste products. Although we believe that our safety procedures for handling and disposing of such materials comply with the standards prescribed by state and federal regulations, the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials cannot be eliminated completely. In the event of such an accident, we could be held liable for any damages that result and any such liability not covered by insurance could exceed our resources. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations may be expensive, and current or future environmental regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts.

 

We may not be able to conduct animal testing in the future, which could harm our research and development activities.

 

Certain of our research and development activities involve animal testing. Such activities have been the subject of controversy and adverse publicity. Animal rights groups and other organizations and individuals have attempted to stop animal testing activities by pressing for legislation and regulation in these areas and by disrupting activities through protests and other means. To the extent the activities of these groups are successful, our business could be materially harmed by delaying or interrupting our research and development activities.

 

Our stock price is extremely volatile, which may affect our ability to raise capital in the future.

 

The market price for securities of biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including ours, historically has been highly volatile, and the market from time to time has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations

 

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that are unrelated to the operating performance of such companies. For example, during the twelve months ended March 31, 2004, our stock price ranged from a low of $7.49 to a high of $15.70. Fluctuations in the trading price or liquidity of our common stock may adversely affect the value of your investment in our common stock.

 

Factors that may have a significant impact on the market price and marketability of our common stock include:

 

  announcements of technological innovations or new commercial therapeutic products by us, our collaborative partners or our present or potential competitors;

 

  our quarterly operating results;

 

  announcements by us or others of results of pre-clinical testing and clinical trials;

 

  developments or disputes concerning patent or other proprietary rights;

 

  developments in our relationships with collaborative partners;

 

  our success in integrating the business and operations of Novuspharma;

 

  acquisitions;

 

  litigation and government proceedings;

 

  adverse legislation, including changes in governmental regulation and the status of our regulatory approvals or applications;

 

  third-party reimbursement policies;

 

  changes in securities analysts’ recommendations;

 

  changes in health care policies and practices;

 

  economic and other external factors; and

 

  general market conditions.

 

In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted. If a securities class action suit is filed against us, we would incur substantial legal fees and our management’s attention and resources would be diverted from operating our business in order to respond to the litigation.

 

In addition, extreme price and volume fluctuations in the stock market may lower the market price of our common stock and affect the volume of trading in our stock. The low and high sale prices per share of our common stock on the Nasdaq National Market were $5.18 and $15.70, respectively, from January 1, 2003 through April 30, 2004. During this period, the average daily trading volume of our common stock on the Nasdaq National Market was approximately 619,900 shares. During periods of stock market price volatility, share prices of many biotechnology companies have often fluctuated in a manner not necessarily related to their individual operating performance. Accordingly, our common stock may be subject to greater price volatility than the stock market as a whole.

 

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Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Washington law could make removal of incumbent management or an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult.

 

Provisions of our articles of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of deterring or delaying attempts by our shareholders to remove or replace management, to commence proxy contests or to effect changes in control. These provisions include:

 

  a classified board so that only one third of the board of directors is elected each year;

 

  elimination of cumulative voting in the election of directors;

 

  procedures for advance notification of shareholder nominations and proposals;

 

  the ability of our board of directors to amend our bylaws without shareholder approval;

 

  the ability of our board of directors to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock without shareholder approval upon the terms and conditions and with the rights, privileges and preferences as the board of directors may determine; and

 

  a shareholder rights plan.

 

In addition, as a Washington corporation, we are subject to Washington law, including Chapter 23 of the Washington Business Corporations Act, which prohibits public companies from engaging in some business combinations without the approval of a majority of the votes within each voting group entitled to vote separately on the transaction.

 

These provisions, alone or together, could have the effect of deterring or delaying changes in incumbent management, proxy contests or changes in control.

 

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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk

 

Interest Rate Market Risk

 

We are exposed to market risk related to changes in interest rates that could adversely affect the value of our investments. We maintain a short-term investment portfolio consisting of interest bearing securities with an average maturity of less than one year. These securities are classified as “available-for-sale”. These securities are interest bearing and thus subject to interest rate risk and will fall in value if market interest rates increase. Because we have the ability to hold our fixed income investments until maturity, we do not expect our operating results or cash flows to be affected to any significant degree by a sudden change in market interest rates related to our securities portfolio. The fair value of our securities available-for-sale at March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003 was $35.7 million and $83.1 million, respectively. For each one percent change in interest rates, the fair value of our securities available-for-sale would change by approximately $0.1 million and $0.3 million as of March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003, respectively.

 

We may manage our interest rate market risk, when deemed appropriate, through the use of derivative financial instruments. Derivative financial instruments are viewed as risk management tools and are not used for speculative or trading purposes. In 2001, we entered into a long-term operating lease that had a variable rent component that was based on LIBOR. In connection with this lease, we entered into an interest rate swap agreement to limit our interest rate exposure. This swap agreement has been designated as a cash flow hedge. The portion of the net gain or loss on the derivative instrument that is effective as a hedge is reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss in shareholders’ deficit. As of March 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003, the fair value of the interest rate swap was a liability of approximately $1.0 million and $0.8 million, respectively.

 

Foreign Exchange Market Risk

 

As a result of our acquisition of Novuspharma, we are exposed to risks associated with foreign currency transactions insofar as we might desire to use U.S. dollars to make contract payments denominated in euros or vice versa. As the net positions of our unhedged foreign currency transactions fluctuate, our earnings might be negatively affected. In addition, we are exposed to risks associated with the translation of euro-denominated financial results and accounts into U.S. dollars. Although our reporting currency remains the U.S. dollar, a significant portion of our consolidated costs now arise in euros, which we translate into U.S. dollars for purposes of financial reporting, based on exchange rates prevailing during the applicable reporting period. In addition, the reported carrying value of our euro-denominated assets and liabilities will be affected by fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar as compared to the euro. Accordingly, changes in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the euro might have an adverse effect on our reported results of operations and financial condition, and fluctuations in exchange rates might harm our reported results and accounts from period to period.

 

We have foreign exchange risk related to euro-denominated cash, cash equivalents and interest receivable (“foreign funds”). Based on the balance of foreign funds at March 31, 2004 of $28.9 million, an assumed 5%, 10% and 20% negative currency movement would result in fair value declines of $1.4 million, $2.9 million and $5.8 million.

 

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

 

(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Our management evaluated, with the participation of our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report on Form 10-Q. Based on this evaluation, our President and Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information we are required to disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in Securities and Exchange Commission rules and forms.

 

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(b) Changes in Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting.

 

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this quarterly report on Form 10-Q that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

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PART II - OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

 

On February 10, 2004, Micromet AG (“Micromet”), a German company, filed a complaint against the Company in federal district court in Washington, asserting that CTI (Europe), the Company’s European Branch (formerly known as Novuspharma S.p.A.), had purportedly breached a contract with Micromet for the development of a drug candidate known as MT201. The alleged breach is based on the assertion that CTI (Europe) failed to pay for certain milestones and development expenses owed under the contract. On February 23, 2004, the Company answered the complaint by denying the substance of the allegations and filing counterclaims for breach of contract and for rescission of the contract based on Micromet’s misrepresentations and failures to disclose material information. The Company believes that Micromet’s complaint is without merit and intends to vigorously defend against the Micromet action, as well as to seek recovery based upon its counterclaims.

 

Item 6. Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K

 

  (a) Exhibits

 

31.1    Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2    Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32    Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

  (b) Reports on Form 8-K

 

On January 13, 2004, we filed a report on Form 8-K relating to the announcement of the effectiveness of the merger between the Company and Novuspharma S.p.A. on January 1, 2004.

 

On February 5, 2004, we filed a report on Form 8-K/A amending the 8-K filed on January 13, 2004 to include the (a) unaudited financial statements of Novuspharma as of and for the nine months ended September 30, 2003 and 2002 and financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2002, 2001 and 2000; and (b) the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements of the Company and Novuspharma as of and for the nine months ended September 30, 2003 and the year ended December 31, 2002.

 

On February 11, 2004, we furnished a report on Form 8-K relating to the issuance of our financial results for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2003.

 

On March 22, 2004, we filed a report on Form 8-K/A amending the 8-K/A filed on February 5, 2004 to include the (a) financial statements of Novuspharma, including Novuspharma’s balance sheet at December 31, 2003 and 2002 and the statement of operations, shareholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the years ended December 31, 2003, 2002 and 2001 and for the period January 1, 1999 (inception) to December 31, 2003; and (b) the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements of the Company and Novuspharma as of and for the year ended December 31, 2003.

 

On May 6, 2004, we furnished a report on Form 8-K relating to the issuance of our financial results for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2004.

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized:

 

    CELL THERAPEUTICS, INC.
   

(Registrant)

Dated: May 6, 2004

  By:  

/s/ James A. Bianco, M.D.


       

James A. Bianco, M.D.

       

President and Chief Executive Officer

Dated: May 6, 2004

  By:  

/s/ Louis A. Bianco


       

Louis A. Bianco

       

Executive Vice President,

       

Finance and Administration

       

(Principal Financial Officer,

Chief Accounting Officer)

 

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