Savient Pharmaceuticals Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2008 Financi...( Conference Call Scheduled for Februar...),Health

Conference Call Scheduled for February 26, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. EST

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SVNT) today reported financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2008. For the fourth quarter of 2008, the Company had a net loss of $24.2 million, or $0.45 per share, on total revenues of $1.1 million. For the year ended December 31, 2008, the Company had a net loss of $84.2 million, or $1.57 per share, on total revenues of $3.2 million. The Company ended the year with $78.6 million in cash and short-term investments.

Operational Highlights:

• Submitted KRYSTEXXA(TM) (pegloticase) Biologics License Application (BLA) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October 2008.
• FDA agreed to file our BLA application and granted a priority review at the end of December 2008.
• Received approval of the pegloticase trade name KRYSTEXXA from both the FDA and European Medicines Agency (EMEA).
• Amendments designed to strengthen and clarify the KRYSTEXXA BLA were filed and deemed a major amendment by the FDA. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) regulations, the FDA extended the review period by three months beyond the original April 30, 2009 PDUFA action date.

"We finished both the fourth quarter and the year 2008 within our financial expectations while achieving several significant regulatory milestones," stated Paul Hamelin, President of Savient. "We continue to execute our business plan while being prudent with the management of our operating expenses. We have sufficient cash on hand to fund our ongoing operations for at least the next twelve months. Clearly, the last quarter has been a pivotal one for the Co
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