Description of Business

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Nature of Operations [Text Block]

(1) Description of Business

          On January 29, 2010, Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and subsidiaries (Enzon or the Company) consummated the sale of its specialty pharmaceutical business, comprised principally of the Company’s products and contract manufacturing segments. These divested components are reflected in these consolidated financial statements as discontinued operations and historical information related to the divested components has been reclassified accordingly. As part of this transaction, the Company also divested an in-process research and development asset of the specialty pharmaceutical business and reported the proceeds in revenue from continuing operations. Subsequent to the sale of the specialty pharmaceutical business, the Company committed to performing certain research and development and general and administrative services to facilitate transition (see Note 22, Discontinued Operations).

          Following the sale of the specialty pharmaceutical business, Enzon is a biotechnology company dedicated to the research and development of innovative therapeutics for cancer patients with high unmet medical needs. The Company incurred workforce and facilities-related restructuring charges during 2011, 2010 and 2009 which reflected the transition from a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company with research, manufacturing and marketing operations to a biotechnology company dedicated to oncology research and development (see Note 13, Restructurings).

          Operations are funded in part by the receipt of royalty revenues from licensing arrangements with other companies related to sales of products developed using the Company’s proprietary Customized PEGylation Linker Technology (Customized Linker Technology®) – primarily PEGINTRON, marketed by Merck & Co., Inc. The Company operates in one business segment. The Company’s Principal Executive Officer (chief operating decision maker) reviews the Company’s operating results on an aggregate basis and manages the Company’s operations as a single operating unit. As of December 31, 2011, the Company’s operations and assets resided exclusively in the United States.

          The Company’s pipeline drug development programs utilize two platforms – Customized Linker Technology and third-generation messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-targeting agents utilizing the Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) technology. The Company currently has four compounds in clinical development: PEG-SN38 and the mRNA antagonists targeting Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α (HIF-1α), Survivin and Androgen Receptor (AR). In addition, the Company has other novel LNA targets in various stages of preclinical research.

          The Company’s continuing business is subject to significant risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to:

• The risk that the Company will not achieve success in its research and development efforts, including clinical trials conducted by either the Company or its collaborative partners.
• The risk that the Company will experience operating losses for the next several years.
• The risk that there will be a decline in sales of products sold by others from which the Company derives royalty revenues.
• Decisions by regulatory authorities regarding whether and when to approve the Company’s regulatory applications.
• The risk that the Company will fail to obtain adequate financing to meet its future capital and financing needs.
• The risk that key personnel will leave the Company.