Aegerion third quarter net loss increases to $6.2 million

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:AEGR), an emerging biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat severe lipid disorders, announced its financial results and business highlights for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010.

Financial Results

For the quarter ended September 30, 2010, Aegerion reported a net loss of $6.2 million, or $3.61 per share attributable to common stockholders, compared with a net loss of $3.3 million, or $1.96 per share attributable to common stockholders for the same period in 2009.

Research and development expenses were $1.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2010, compared to $1.2 million for the same period in 2009. Development expenses were primarily related to the advancement of our Phase III clinical trial for our lead compound, lomitapide.

General and administrative expenses were $1.5 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2010, compared with $0.6 million for the same period in 2009, representing an increase of $0.9 million. This increase was primarily due to increased consulting expenses and outside services.

As of September 30, 2010, Aegerion had cash and cash equivalents totaling approximately $0.4 million.

Subsequent Events

On October 27, 2010, Aegerion completed its initial public offering, and on November 2, 2010, the underwriters exercised in full their over-allotment option to purchase additional shares of common stock in the initial public offering. Including the over-allotment, a total of 5,750,000 shares were sold in the offering, resulting in net proceeds to Aegerion of approximately $48.8 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses.

In November 2010, Aegerion repaid in full approximately $3.3 million of outstanding principal and interest under its loan and security agreement with Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. Also in November 2010, Aegerion received $244,479 in grants from the federal government in connection with its qualifying therapeutic discovery project grant program.

Management Commentary

Marc D. Beer, Chief Executive Officer commented, "Following our successful initial public offering, we are excited to return our attention to our internal operations, including further building out the team with key hires experienced in cardiovascular and rare diseases. 

"We were delighted with the quality of investors in our initial public offering and we remain on track as we ready our lead product, lomitapide, a once-a-day, oral treatment for a life-threatening rare disease known as homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, or HoFH, for regulatory filings in both the US and the EU in 2011."