Biosensors Reports 37% Increase in Its Full Year Product Revenue; Attributable to Sales of Its Drug-Eluting Stents

    SINGAPORE, May 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Biosensors
 International Group, Ltd. ("Biosensors" or the "Company", Bloomberg: BIG
 SP) today reported its fourth fiscal quarter ("4Q FY06") and fiscal year
 ended March 31, 2006 financial results with total product revenue
 increasing by 35% to US$7.7 million in 4Q FY06 from US$5.7 million in the
 prior year's corresponding quarter, and an increase of 37% to US$28.6
 million in the twelve months ending March 31, 2006 from US$20.9 million in
 the prior fiscal year. The increase in revenue is primarily attributable to
 growth in the sales of its drug-eluting stents ("DES"). Revenue from DES
 was US$3.2 million in 4Q FY06 compared with US$0.6 million in the prior
 year's corresponding quarter, and for the fiscal year, revenue from DES was
 US$9.0 million compared with US$1.2 million in prior fiscal year.
     Mr. Yoh-Chie Lu, Chairman and CEO said, "The introduction of Axxion(TM)
 DES has given us the opportunity to strengthen our skills in supplying DES,
 including establishing of dedicated distribution networks for DES sales.
 While Axxion(TM) has contributed revenue in the quarters following its CE
 Mark approval in July last year, we remain focused on the launch of
 BioMatrix(TM) which will be the key revenue driver for the Company going
 forward. As such, this year, we have continued our investments to support
 BioMatrix(TM), including increasing clinical activities and strengthening
 our sales & marketing infrastructure. With Axxion(TM), we have been able to
 put to practice the management of DES logistics and this will help in
 expediting the eventual launch of BioMatrix(TM).
     Licensing revenue was US$0.2 million in 4Q FY06, compared to US$25.0
 million in the prior year's corresponding quarter, and US$9.3 million for
 FY06 compared to US$50.1 million in the prior fiscal year. This is
 consistent with management's expectations as licensing revenue is
 non-recurring in nature and milestone payments have already been recognized
 in prior periods.
     R&D expenses which include new product research & development, clinical
 trials, patent registration and costs associated with regulatory approvals
 were US$6.9 million in 4Q FY06 compared to US$4.0 million in the prior
 year's corresponding quarter. For the fiscal year, this was US$19.2 million
 compared to US$9.6 million in prior fiscal year. The increase of US$9.6
 million for the full year was primarily due to increased investments in
 clinical trials.
     Sales and marketing expenses were US$2.9 million in 4Q FY06 compared to
 US$1.5 million in the prior year's corresponding quarter and were US$9.4
 million in this fiscal year compared to US$5.5 million in last fiscal year.
 General and administrative expenses were US$3.4 million in 4Q FY06 compared
 to US$3.0 million in the prior year's corresponding quarter and totaled
 US$13.4 million in the full year compared to US$10.8 million in last fiscal
 year. The increased expenses are within management's expectation as we
 strengthen our sales & marketing infrastructure and incur additional G&A
 expenses related to operating as a public company.
     The Group reported a net loss of US$9.7 million or US$0.01 loss per
 basic and diluted share in 4Q FY06 compared to a net profit of US$12.9
 million or US$0.02 earnings per basic and diluted share for the prior
 year's corresponding period. For the fiscal year, the Group reported a net
 loss of US$22.5 million or US$0.03 loss per basic and diluted share
 compared to a net profit of US$20.0 million or US$0.03 earnings per basic
 and diluted share for in the prior year.
     R&D and Intellectual Property Update
     During the fiscal year under review, the Company made significant
 progress on BioMatrix(TM), its proprietary DES with biodegradable polymer
 and the Company's Biolimus A9(TM) drug. Mr. Lu commented, "Leading
 cardiologists have highlighted that there are escalating concerns over
 long-term complications associated with durable polymer-coated stents.
 Biosensors' biodegradable polymer technology offers alternative solutions
 to clinicians and should be attractive since it breaks down into water and
 carbon dioxide after the drug is eluted."
     During the fiscal year under review, Biosensors also reported that it
 has been granted a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
 covering the use of anti-restenotic, immuno-suppressive drugs in
 combination with a biodegradable drug-release polymer coating on a stent.
 Mr. John Shulze, Chief Technology Officer said, "We are pleased that we are
 addressing today's safety concerns and have invested in activities
 associated with the biodegradable technology and intellectual property
 protection related to this technology. We will continue our investments in
 clinical studies associated with BioMatrix(TM) as well as R&D for
 additional new products."
     Ms. Chato Abad, Chief Financial Officer said: "In our industry, we need
 to aggressively invest in R&D activities including clinical studies and
 intellectual property rights to be able to introduce new and differentiated
 products and defend our IP when needed. One of our trials involving
 BioMatrix(TM), for instance, attracted strong interest from leading
 cardiologists which led to the decision to expand the trial to include more
 patients at more sites. We believe that such investments should yield
 positive results for the company in the long term. Similarly, it is also
 important for us to build and continuously enhance our internal
 infrastructure including the scale-up of our manufacturing and operations
 to ensure supply of high quality products. All these activities are in line
 with our internal plans and expectations."
     Other Significant Updates
     This year, Biosensors was successful in defending against an action for
 a preliminary injunction brought by Boston Scientific Corporation and
 Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. for alleged infringement of a patent held by
 them. The Netherlands court denied the request for the injunction ruling
 that in their preliminary opinion the Axxion(TM) stent did not infringe on
 the Angiotech EP'376 patent. As a result, Biosensors is able to continue to
 market its Axxion(TM) stent.
     Mr. Lu added: "This year was instrumental in establishing important
 groundwork for our road map for the future. We will continue to make plans
 to enhance our core strengths; I am confident that we are on track with our
 development plans and I look forward to achieving our milestones going
 forward."
      Media Contact
      Biosensors International Group
      Ms Tina Lim, Executive, Corporate Communications
      Tel: (65) 6213 5712
      Email: media@biosensors.com
 
      United States
      Allen & Caron Inc.
      Mr. Matt Clawson
      Executive Vice President, Investor Relations
      Tel: (1) 949 474 4300
      Email: matt@allencaron.com
 
     About Biosensors International Group, Ltd.
     Biosensors develops, manufactures and markets innovative medical devices
     used in interventional cardiology and critical care procedures.
 Biosensors is well-positioned to emerge as a leader in drug-eluting stents,
 an evolving therapy that is rapidly gaining market share from traditional
 therapies such as bare-metal stenting and open-heart surgery. Biosensors
 has internally developed technology to address each component of a
 drug-eluting stent system, including a stent, a stent delivery catheter, a
 biodegradable polymer and a proprietary anti-restenotic drug. It is
 pursuing two separate drug-eluting stent programs, BioMatrix(TM) and
 Axxion(TM), and has licensed aspects of its drug-eluting stent technology
 to four companies.
     Forward Looking Statements
     Certain statements herein include forward-looking statements within the
 meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
 Forward- looking statements generally can be identified by the use of
 forward-looking terminology, such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend,"
 "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "project" or "continue" or the
 negative thereof or other similar words. All forward-looking statements
 involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, customer
 acceptance and market share gains, competition from companies that have
 greater financial resources; introduction of new products into the
 marketplace by competitors; successful product development; dependence on
 significant customers; the ability to recruit and retain quality employees
 as Biosensors grows; and economic and political conditions globally. Actual
 results may differ materially from those discussed in, or implied by, the
 forward-looking statements. The forward- looking statements speak only as
 of the date of this release and Biosensors assumes no duty to update them
 to reflect new, changing or unanticipated events or circumstances.
 
 

SOURCE Biosensors International Group, Ltd.