Q1 2008 Human Genome Sciences Earnings Conference Call - Final.

Original Source: FD (FAIR DISCLOSURE) WIRE

OPERATOR: Welcome to the Human Genome Sciences first quarter 2008 financial results conference call. (OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS) It's my pleasure to turn the call over to Thomas Watkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Human Genome Sciences. Please go ahead.

THOMAS WATKINS, CEO, PRESIDENT, HUMAN GENOME SCIENCES INC.: Thank you, operator and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you all for joining us. Those of you who have not seen the press release that we issued a short time ago will find it posted on our website at www.hgsi.com Before we begin, I'd like to point out that we'll be making forward-looking statements based on current intent, belief and expectations. They are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and I encourage everyone to look at our SEC filings for additional detail.

In today's call, I plan to provide an overview of recent accomplishments. Next, Tim Barabe, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer will touch on key aspects of first quarter 2008 financial results.

Finally for the Q&A session, we'll be joined by several other members of our senior management team. The first quarter of 2008 was another period of substantial progress for HGS toward the commercialization of late stage products. It was also a quarter in which HGS moved forward, strategically and opportunistically to strengthen our pipeline. So what you have is a company with three strong Phase 3 products and an emerging pipeline that creates opportunities for future growth. Let's talk about our Phase 3 products first beginning with LymphoStat-B.

Just two weeks ago, we completed the enrollment of BLISS-52, one of our two pivotal Phase 3 trials of LymphoStat-B in patients with active systemic lupis. We expect BLISS-76, the other Phase 3 trial of LymphoStat-B before the end of this summer. These are the largest randomized trials ever conducted within lupis. With enrollment completed in the BLISS-52 trial, we and GlaxoSmithKline are on track to have our first Phase 3 data for LymphoStat-B available by mid-2009 with all Phase 3 data in Fall 2009.

Assuming success in Phase 3, we believe that LymphoStat could represent a break through that would change the landscape of treatment for lupis. Moving to Albuferon, I'm pleased to report we completed the treatment phase achieve two 3 in treatment naive patients with chronic hepatitis C.