ZymoGenetics

ZymoGenetics

Founded in 1981, ZymoGenetics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutic proteins. ZymoGenetics is publicly traded (NASDAQ: ZGEN) and headquartered in Seattle, Washington in the historic Seattle City Light Steam Plant building.

Our mission is to create novel protein drugs that will significantly help patients fight their diseases. We have contributed to the discovery or development of six recombinant protein products now marketed by other companies. Current programs target viral infection, cancer, inflammatory diseases and bleeding. Our first internally developed product, RECOTHROM® Thrombin, topical (Recombinant), was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 17, 2008 for use as a topical hemostat to control moderate bleeding during surgical procedures and is now marketed in the United States. We have a promising pipeline of novel therapeutics, which we are developing on our own or in collaboration with partners.

In 2009, our strategic objectives were:

  1. Capitalize on the RECOTHROM® market opportunity  Our goal was to build on the 4Q 2008 sales momentum to achieve sales in the range of $25-35 million dollars.
  2. Aggressively develop PEG-Interferon lambda with partner Bristol-Myers Squibb  Our goal was to complete the ongoing Phase 1b clinical trials and initiate the first Phase 2 clinical trial. We began Phase 2 testing in November 2009 and received $200 million in cash from Bristol-Myers Squibb through a combination of license fees and milestones during 2009.
  3. Reduce cash usage through additional cost cutting and partnering activities  Our goal was to complete a partnering transaction to facilitate more rapid movement of our preclinical assets into development and to bring additional cash into the company. In addition, we were committed to reducing cash consumption and making operations more efficient. We completed a partnering transaction with Novo Nordisk in December 2009 related to our IL-21 mAb candidate and received $24 million in upfront cash. Through two restructurings completed in 2009, we expect to generate annual cost savings of approximately $40 million.

ZymoGenetics is an emerging leader among biopharmaceutical companies.