Zealand Pharma announces 94% growth in revenue in preliminary financial results for the year ended 31 December 2011

Zealand Pharma’s revenue plus other operating income increased in total by 93.5% in 2011 to DKK 170.7 (EUR 23.0) million from DKK 88.2 (EUR 11.9) million in 2010. The increase is mainly due to the agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim, signed in June 2011, for the discovery, development and commercialization of novel peptide based drugs to treat diabetes and obesity, including ZP2929. Further, in December 2011 Zealand Pharma received milestone payments of DKK 22.3 (EUR 3.0) million from Helsinn Healthcare relating to the development of elsiglutide, a Zealand Pharma invented peptide drug in development for the treatment of chemotherapy induced diarrhea. Helsinn Healthcare is completing a Phase Ib study and preparing a Phase IIa study to evaluate the efficacy of elsiglutide in the prevention of diarrhea in colon cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Of note, lixisenatide (Lyxumia®) was filed for registration in Europe in November 2011 by Sanofi and is expected to be filed for registration in the US in Q4 2012.
As of 31 December 2011, Zealand Pharma had cash and cash equivalents including securities of

DKK 427.7 (EUR 57.5) million. This corresponds to a similar cash position of DKK 433.0 (EUR 58.2) million at the end of 2010.

Commenting on today’s announcement, David Solomon, Chief Executive Officer and President of Zealand Pharma, said: “2011 was a year of solid revenue growth for Zealand Pharma. Our revenue stream increased in 2011 due to excellent collaborations with new as well as existing partners – including Sanofi who filed our invented drug, lixisenatide (Lyxumia®), for registration in Europe in November 2011. Further, for the coming years our strong cash position allows us to advance our own pipeline and apply Zealand Pharma’s world leading edge in peptide drug innovation and development to other new and lucrative programs.”


For further information, please contact:
David H. Solomon,
President & CEO,
Tel: +45 2220 6300

Hanne Leth Hillman,
Vice President for IR & Corporate Communication,
Tel: +45 5060 3689,
email: hlh@zealandpharma.com