Bionovo Reports Second Quarter 2008 Financial Results

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bionovo, Inc.
(Nasdaq: BNVI) today announced results for the second quarter of 2008.
Quarter Results
The company did not report any revenue for the three and six months ended
June 30, 2008. Revenues were $3,750 and $7,500 for the three and six months
ended June 30, 2007, respectively, received from a licensing and technology
transfer agreement with a Taiwanese company. In October of 2007, we terminated
the agreement following notice of material breach by the other party and
recognized the remaining deferred revenue of $91,250 in December 2007.
Total operating expenses for the three and six months ending June 30, 2008
were $4.4 million and $8.6 million, respectively, compared to $2.8 million and
$6.3 million, respectively, for the same period in 2007.
The Company reported a net loss for the three and six months ended June
30, 2008 of $4.2 million, or $0.06 per share, and $8.2 million, or $0.11 per
share, respectively, compared with a net loss of $2.7 million, or $0.04 per
share, and $6.0 million, or $0.09 per share, respectively, for the same
periods in 2007.
The Company ended the quarter with $24.6 million in cash, cash equivalents
and short term investments, and began the quarter with $29.2 million, a
difference of $4.6 million.
Company Highlights
-- The Phase 1 portion of the BZL101 Phase 1/2 clinical trial for
advanced metastatic breast cancer continues successfully, demonstrating both
positive safety and tolerability profiles, as well as the early signs of
efficacy.
-- Bionovo presented data on two additional preclinical anti-cancer drug
candidates -- BN107 and BN108 -- at the American Association of Cancer
Research (AACR) conference in April. BN107 induces apoptosis through the
mitochondrial pathway, and induces cell death only in estrogen receptor
negative breast cancer cells. BN108 induces cancer cell death by rapid
inactivation of both AKT and mTOR pathways in breast cancer cells, but not in
normal cells.
-- The Company participated in a number of studies that have further
elucidated the mechanisms of the estrogen receptor beta pathway, which are the
basis of the Company's MF101 and VG101 drug candidates, for menopausal hot
flashes and vaginal dryness, respectively.
"The second quarter of the year was again a very productive quarter for
Bionovo," said Dr. Isaac Cohen, O.M.D., Bionovo's Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer. "We have continued to advance our scientific base with several key
publications of our discoveries. We have had very productive discussions with
our advisors and the FDA, and we are now poised to launch clinical trials for
both MF101 and VG101."
"We are very excited at the progress BZL101 is making in the clinical
trials for advanced breast cancer. This drug candidate is showing excellent
tolerability and safety, and the early signs of significant efficacy," stated
Dr. Mary Tagliaferri, M.D., Bionovo's President and CMO.
A full financial report on Form 10-Q is expected to be filed by Tuesday,
August 5, 2008.
Bionovo, Inc.
Bionovo is a pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and
development of safe and effective treatments for women's health and cancer,
markets with significant unmet needs and billions in potential annual revenue.
The company applies its expertise in the biology of menopause and cancer to
design new drugs derived from botanical sources which have novel mechanisms of
action. Based on the results of early and mid-stage clinical trials, Bionovo
believes they have discovered new classes of drug candidates within their rich
pipeline with the potential to be leaders in their markets. Bionovo is
headquartered in Emeryville, California and is traded on the NASDAQ Capital
Market under the symbol, "BNVI". For more information about Bionovo and its
programs, visit http://www.bionovo.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the
business of Bionovo, Inc. that can be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as "believes," "expects," or similar expressions. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties,
including uncertainties relating to product development, efficacy and safety,
regulatory actions or delays, the ability to obtain or maintain patent or
other proprietary intellectual property protection, market acceptance,
physician acceptance, third party reimbursement, future capital requirements,
competition in general and other factors that may cause actual results to be
materially different from those described herein as anticipated, believed,
estimated or expected. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are or will be
described in greater detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, which are available at http://www.sec.gov. Bionovo, Inc. is under
no obligation (and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to update or alter
its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.

Bionovo, Inc.
(A Development Stage Company)
Condensed Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)

Three months ended
June 30,
2008 2007
Revenues $ - $ 3,750
Operating expenses:
Research and development 2,552,644 1,979,103
General and administrative 1,808,303 864,924
Merger cost - -
Total operating expenses 4,360,947 2,844,027

Loss from operations (4,360,947) (2,840,277)
Change in fair value of warrant
liability - -
Interest income 189,555 197,975
Interest expense (35,375) (12,446)
Other income (expense) (39) -
Loss before income tax (4,206,806) (2,654,748)
Income tax provision - (1,600)
Net loss $ (4,206,806) $ (2,656,348)
Basic and diluted net loss per
common share $ (0.06) $ (0.04)
Shares used in computing basic and
diluted net loss per common share 76,344,199 65,213,935

Accumulated
from
February 1, 2002
(Date of
Six months ended Inception)
June 30, to
2008 2007 2008
Revenues $ - $ 7,500 $ 659,490
Operating expenses:
Research and development 4,940,036 4,767,771 20,732,241
General and administrative 3,630,330 1,559,845 11,082,097
Merger cost - - 1,964,065
Total operating expenses 8,570,366 6,327,616 33,778,403

Loss from operations (8,570,366) (6,320,116) (33,118,913)
Change in fair value of
warrant liability - - 831,288
Interest income 495,747 347,687 1,564,163
Interest expense (61,912) (26,527) (298,929)
Other income (expense) (15,616) - 129,281
(8,152,147) (5,998,956) (30,893,110)
Loss before income tax
Income tax provision (3,256) (2,400) (12,258)
$(8,155,403) $(6,001,356) $(30,905,368)
Net loss
Basic and diluted net loss
per common share $ (0.11) $ (0.09) $ (0.78)
Shares used in computing
basic and diluted
net loss per common share 76,343,649 63,388,724 39,407,904

Bionovo, Inc.
(A Development Stage Company)
Condensed Balance Sheets

June 30, December 31,
2008 2007
(Unaudited) (Note 1)
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $11,918,365 $28,472,485
Short-term investments 12,698,636 4,823,938
Receivables 136,904 285,899
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 1,027,786 405,381
Total current assets 25,781,691 33,987,703
Property and equipment, net 3,966,475 3,900,248
Other assets and patent pending, net 938,257 277,220
Total assets $30,686,423 $38,165,171

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $296,981 $299,677
Accrued clinical and costs of other studies 201,554 298,559
Accrued compensation and benefits 630,323 462,485
Current portion of lease obligation 874,851 706,710
Other current liabilities 358,970 949,200
Total current liabilities 2,362,679 2,716,631
Non-current portion of lease obligation 866,210 526,346

Commitments and contingencies
Shareholders' equity:
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value;
10,000,000 shares authorized; none
issued and outstanding - -
Common stock, $0.0001 par value,
190,000,000 shares authorized; 76,363,101
and 76,343,101 shares issued and
outstanding as of June 30, 2008 and
December 31, 2007, respectively 7,636 7,634
Additional paid-in capital 58,388,703 57,660,045
Accumulated other comprehensive income (33,437) 4,480
Accumulated deficit (30,905,368) (22,749,965)
Total shareholders' equity 27,457,534 34,922,194
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $30,686,423 $38,165,171

* The balance sheet at December 31, 2007 has been derived from the audited
financial statements at that date but does not include all of the
information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States for complete financial statements.

SOURCE Bionovo, Inc.

Tom Chesterman, SVP and CFO of Bionovo, Inc., +1-510-420-4189,
tom.chesterman@bionovo.com