Pharsight signs agreement with PricewaterhouseCoopers and announces third quarter results
To ensure demands for its services and products worldwide are met, Pharsight has formed an agreement with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). PwC will work with Pharsight to co-market and deploy new services and technologies designed to change the way pharmaceutical companies develop and market new drugs.
Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will market and implement integrated services based on Pharsight's Computer Aided Trial Design (CATD) capability. The CATD system is comprised of simulation and modeling technologies and decision analysis methodologies that enable researchers to design more effective trials and make better program decisions.
"While we have continued to meet our objectives with our own resources, the combination of increased demand worldwide and the need to integrate our products into more extensive enterprise infrastructures has created opportunities to collaborate with consulting organizations that have complementary expertise in the global pharmaceutical industry," said Art Reidel, President and CEO of Pharsight. "We are very pleased that PwC, with its experience and skills in this area, will be our initial consulting collaboration. PwC and Pharsight will give our customers what we believe is the best solution, backed by the strongest technical, scientific and management talent, for dramatic improvement in drug development."
The company also announced advances in its Information Product development programs.
"This quarter we have seen good progress in the beta testing and customer evaluation of our Information Products," Reidel said. "We're continuing on track toward the significant contribution of these products to our revenue in fiscal 2002."
The partnership with PwC coincides with Pharsight's announcement of its third quarter results. The announcement refers to the quarter ending December 31, 2000, when revenue increased 52% to $3.5 million, up from $2.3 million for the same period of 1999.
In addition, the company recorded a net loss for the quarter of $4.8 million per share, compared to a net loss of $2.5 million per share for the third quarter of 1999. This increase in net loss is primarily attributed to the amortization of deferred stock compensation (non-cash) and expansion of staff and operations.
At the end of its last quarter, the company had $27.2 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments compared to $16.5 million at the end of March 2000. Pharsight attributes this increase to the net proceeds from the company's IPO in August 2000.
"Our strong customer relationships continue to grow with the results created by our products and services," Reidel said . "We're gratified that the reputation we've built and the understanding of the value that Pharsight provides are attracting new customers who are seeking proven solutions to improve their development process and achieve substantial savings in time and money."