UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Form
6-K
Report
of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For
March
20, 2008
Commission
File Number: 000-51310
XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.
(Translation
of registrant's name into English)
711
Executive Blvd., Suite Q
Valley
Cottage, New York 10989
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under
cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
| Form 20-F x | Form 40-F o |
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ____
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted
by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ____
Indicate
by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in this Form,
the
registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant
to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
| Yes o | No x |
If
“Yes”
is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-
N/A
XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Announces Financial Results
for
the Year Ended December 31, 2007
Valley
Cottage, New York, March 20, 2008 -
XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: XTLB; TASE: XTL), a biopharmaceutical company
engaged in the acquisition and development of therapeutics for the treatment
of
unmet medical needs, particularly diabetic neuropathic pain and hepatitis C,
today announced its financial results for the year ended December 31,
2007.
At
December 31, 2007, the Company had cash, cash equivalents and short-term bank
deposits of $13.0 million, compared to $25.2 million at December 31, 2006.
The
decrease of $12.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2007 was
attributable primarily to the Company’s $7.5 million initial upfront license
payment made in connection with the in-licensing of Bicifadine, a serotonin
and
norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor for the treatment of diabetic neuropathic
pain, in January 2007, operating expenditures associated with the Phase 2b
clinical trial of Bicifadine, the development of the DOS hepatitis C
pre-clinical program, and operating expenditures associated with the Company’s
legacy hepatitis C clinical programs that were terminated in 2007, offset by
$8.8 million in net proceeds from the private placement that was completed
in
November 2007.
The
loss
for the year ended December 31, 2007 was $24.9 million, or $0.11 per ordinary
share, compared to a loss of $15.1 million, or $0.08 per ordinary share, for
the
year ended December 31, 2006, representing an increase in net loss of $9.8
million. The increased loss was primarily attributable to the $7.5 million
upfront license fee in connection with the in-licensing of Bicifadine and
additional costs associated with the Bicifadine clinical program, offset by
lower costs associated with the Company’s legacy hepatitis C clinical programs.
The increase in loss was also due to a $1.6 million charge that was recorded
in
2007 relating to the fair-value of stock appreciation rights granted as a
transaction advisory fee to certain third party intermediaries in connection
with the Bicifadine transaction. Also, for the years ended December 31, 2007
and
2006, the Company’s loss of $24.9 million and $15.1 million, respectively,
included $1.9 million and $2.2 million, respectively, of non-cash stock option
compensation expense.
Ron
Bentsur, Chief Executive Officer of XTL, commented, “2007 was a pivotal year for
XTL. The year began with the in-licensing of Bicifadine, a member of the SNRI
class. In September, we initiated a multi-center, double-blind,
placebo-controlled Phase 2b clinical trial with Bicifadine in diabetic
neuropathic pain, an indication where the SNRI class has demonstrated consistent
efficacy. We expect to complete and announce results from this study in the
fourth quarter of 2008.” Mr. Bentsur added, “In November 2007, we strengthened
our cash position with the completion of a $9.8 million fund-raising to
institutional investors. We believe that this fund-raising, coupled with the
pending $4.0 million upfront payment from the recently announced out-licensing
transaction of our hepatitis C pre-clinical program, provides us with sufficient
capital well into the first quarter of 2009.”
ABOUT
XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD.
XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (“XTL”) is engaged in the development of therapeutics
for the treatment of diabetic neuropathic pain and HCV. XTL is developing
Bicifadine, a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, for the treatment
of diabetic neuropathic pain, which is currently in a Phase 2b study. XTL has
out-licensed its novel pre-clinical HCV small molecule inhibitor program. XTL
also has an active in-licensing and acquisition program designed to identify
and
acquire additional drug candidates. XTL is publicly traded on the NASDAQ and
Tel-Aviv Stock Exchanges (NASDAQ: XTLB; TASE: XTL).
Contact:
Ron
Bentsur, Chief Executive Officer
Tel:
+1-(845)-267-0707 ext. 225
Cautionary
Statement
Some
of the statements included in this press release, particularly those
anticipating future financial performance, clinical and business prospects
for
our clinical compound for neuropathic pain, Bicifadine, and for our pre-clinical
compounds for hepatitis C from our XTL-DOS program, growth and operating
strategies and similar matters, may be forward-looking statements that involve
a
number of risks and uncertainties. For those statements, we claim the protection
of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Among the factors that could cause
our
actual results to differ materially is our ability to complete in a timely
and
cost effective manner clinical trials on Bicifadine, which could directly impact
our ability to continue to fund our operations; our ability to meet anticipated
development timelines for all of our drug candidates due to recruitment,
clinical trial results, manufacturing capabilities or other factors; the success
of our drug development and marketing arrangements with third parties; and
other
risk factors identified from time to time in our reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 20-F
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 23, 2007. Any
forward-looking statements set forth in this press release speak only as of
the
date of this press release. We do not intend to update any of these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after
the date hereof. This press release and prior releases are available at
http://www.xtlbio.com. The information in our website is not incorporated by
reference into this press release and is included as an inactive textual
reference only.
XTL
Biopharmaceuticals Ltd.
Selected
Consolidated Financial Data
(Thousands
of US Dollars, Except Share and Per Share Data)
Statements
of Operations Information:
|
Year
ended December 31,
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
2007
|
|
2006
|
|
||
|
|
|
(unaudited)
|
|
||||
|
Revenues:
|
|||||||
|
Reimbursed
out-of-pocket expenses
|
--
|
--
|
|||||
|
License
|
907
|
454
|
|||||
|
907
|
454
|
||||||
|
Cost
of revenues:
|
|||||||
|
Reimbursed
out-of-pocket expenses
|
--
|
--
|
|||||
|
License
(with respect to royalties)
|
110
|
54
|
|||||
|
110
|
54
|
||||||
|
Gross
margin
|
797
|
400
|
|||||
|
Research
and development costs (includes
$7,500
initial upfront license fee in 2007 and
also includes non-cash stock option compensation
of $141 and $173, in 2007 and 2006,
respectively)
|
18,998
|
10,229
|
|||||
|
Less
- participations
|
56
|
--
|
|||||
|
18,942
|
10,229
|
||||||
|
General
and administrative expenses (includes
non-cash
stock option compensation of $1,784 and
$1,992, in 2007 and 2006, respectively)
|
5,582
|
5,576
|
|||||
|
Business
development costs
(includes stock appreciation
rights compensation of $1,560 in
2007 and also includes non-cash stock option
compensation of $22 and $15, in 2007 and
2006, respectively)
|
2,008
|
641
|
|||||
|
Operating
loss
|
25,735
|
16,046
|
|||||
|
Financial
and other income, net
|
590
|
1,141
|
|||||
|
Loss
before income taxes
|
25,145
|
14,905
|
|||||
|
Income
taxes
|
(206
|
)
|
227
|
||||
|
Loss
for the period
|
24,939
|
15,132
|
|||||
|
Basic
and diluted loss per ordinary share
|
$
|
0.11
|
$
|
0.08
|
|||
|
Weighted
average number of shares used in computing
basic and diluted loss per ordinary
share
|
228,492,818
|
201,737,295
|
|||||
Balance
Sheet Information:
|
|
|
|
December
31,
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
2007
|
2006*
|
|||
|
(unaudited)
|
|||||||
|
Cash,
cash equivalents, and bank deposits
|
12,977
|
25,245
|
|||||
|
Total
assets
|
14,127
|
26,900
|
|||||
|
Accumulated
deficit
|
(139,862
|
)
|
(114,923
|
)
|
|||
|
Total
shareholders’ equity
|
8,564
|
22,760
|
|||||
*
Condensed from audited financial statements.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD. | ||
| |
|
|
| Date: March 20, 2008 | By: | /s/ Ron Bentsur |
|
Ron Bentsur |
||
|
Chief
Executive Officer
|
||