Oncothyreon first quarter net income increases to $9.7 million

Oncothyreon Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTY) today reported financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2012.

Loss from operations decreased to $5.7 million in the first quarter of 2012 from $5.9 million in the first quarter of 2011 as the result of decreased general and administrative expenses to $1.5 million from $1.8 million, partially offset by increased research and development expenses to $4.3 million from $4.2 million.

Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 was $9.7 million or $0.22 per basic and $0.21 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $7.1 million or $0.24 per basic and diluted share for the comparable period in 2011.  The increase in net income for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to the prior year period net loss was primarily attributable to non-cash income of $15.6 million as a result of the change in fair value of warrant liability.

As of March 31, 2012, Oncothyreon's cash, cash equivalents and investments were $58.8 million, compared to $66.4 million at December 31, 2011, a decrease of $7.6 million attributable to cash used in operations and capital expenditures during the quarter.

On April 3, 2012, Oncothyreon closed an underwritten public offering of 13,512,500 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $4.00 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $54.1 million. The net proceeds from the sale of the shares, after deducting the underwriters' discounts and other offering expenses payable by Oncothyreon, were approximately $50.3 million.

Financial Guidance

Oncothyreon believes the following financial guidance to be correct as of the date provided.  Oncothyreon is providing this guidance as a convenience to investors and assumes no obligation to update it.

Expenses in 2012 are expected to be higher when compared to 2011, primarily as a result of the more advanced clinical development of PX-866 and the ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of ONT-10. Oncothyreon currently expects cash used in operations in 2012 to be between approximately $30.0 and approximately $33.0 million.  As a result, Oncothyreon estimates that its existing cash, cash equivalents and investments will be sufficient to fund operations for at least the next 12 months.