2005 Sales of $221.2 Million; Q4 Sales of $56.4 Million

BOULDER, Colo., Feb. 22, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pharmion Corporation today reported financial results for its quarter and year ended December 31, 2005. For the year, net sales totaled $221.2 million, compared to net sales of $130.2 million in 2004. Sales of Vidaza(R) (azacitidine for injectable suspension) totaled $125.6 million for 2005, compared to $47.1 million for 2004. Vidaza was launched on July 1, 2004. Named patient and compassionate use sales of thalidomide totaled $79.4 million in 2005, compared to $65.3 million in 2004.

Fourth quarter net sales totaled $56.4 million, compared to $51.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2004. Sales of Vidaza totaled $33.6 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $26.6 million in the same quarter of 2004. Fourth quarter named patient and compassionate use sales of thalidomide totaled $18.4 million, compared to $19.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2004. The decline in fourth quarter 2005 thalidomide sales is primarily due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar.

"With over $220 million in revenues, a strong balance sheet, two new products, data from three pivotal Phase III studies for three different products expected in 2006 and a very integrated and focused product portfolio, we are very optimistic about the prospects for our rapidly-evolving company," said Patrick J. Mahaffy, Pharmion's president and CEO.

The Company's net income for the year ended December 31, 2005 was $2.3 million, or $0.07 per share, including a charge of $21.2 million for acquired in-process research related to the licensing of European and certain additional international rights to satraplatin from GPC Biotech AG. Excluding this charge, net income would have been $23.5 million, or $0.72 per share, compared to a net loss of $(17.5) million, or $(0.63) per share for 2004.

Pharmion reported a net loss of $(16.4) million for the fourth quarter of 2005, or a loss of $(0.51) per share, also including the $21.2 million charge for acquired in-process research. Excluding this charge, net income would have been $4.8 million, or $0.15 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2005, compared to net income of $2.6 million, or $0.08 per share, for the fourth quarter for 2004.

Operating expenses, excluding cost of sales and acquired in-process research, totaled $135.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2005 and $36.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2005. These amounts compare to $98.6 million for 2004 and $32.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2004. These increases were expected and are due to having a full year of Vidaza commercialization costs in 2005 versus a partial year in 2004 and increased development activities for Vidaza and thalidomide in 2005.

As of December 31, 2005, Pharmion had $243.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, and no outstanding debt. In early 2006, Pharmion made up front licensing, development and equity investment payments totaling $62.1 million in connection with the product licensing deals with GPC Biotech and MethylGene, Inc. Adjusting for the effect of these payments, Pharmion had approximately $180 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Recent Events and 2006 Upcoming Milestones

In the last two months, the Company announced two licensing agreements for products which are highly complementary to Pharmion's existing portfolio, both as single agents and potentially in combination with Pharmion's existing products. The first of these, satraplatin, is the only oral platinum-based compound in advanced development, and is the subject of a fully-enrolled phase III trial in second-line hormone-refractory prostate cancer with data expected during the second half of 2006. Pharmion licensed the rights to Europe and certain international markets from GPC Biotech in December 2005. The second compound, MGCD0103, is a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor which is the subject of a robust phase II program initiating in 2006. MGCD0103 is currently the subject of several Phase I studies in hematological malignancies and solid tumors, as well as a Phase I/II study in acute myelogenous leukemia and high-risk Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) in combination with Vidaza. Pharmion licensed the U.S., European and other international rights for MGCD0103 from MethylGene in January 2006.

"We have significantly enhanced our pipeline and long-term growth prospects, both with these two new products and with the continuing clinical development of our existing products," said Mahaffy. "These efforts should mature into three marketing applications in Europe in the next twelve to fifteen months, as well as a submission to expand our initial MDS label for Vidaza in the U.S."

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?A ...