Neurocrine Biosciences Widens 2Q Loss in Aftermath of Pfizer Breakup on Indiplon
-- Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. said Monday it widened its losses during the second quarter as revenue shrunk and the company ramped up spending on its sales force.
The biotechnolgy company, with its focus on treating insomnia, said it lost $27.4 million, or 73 cents a share, compared with a loss of $5.6 million, or 15 cents a share a year prior. Revenue shrunk to $9.2 million from $33.2 million as sponsored research and development, and milestone payments, each dropped to below $1 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 72 cents a share on revenue of $22.9 million.
The loss caps a quarter that saw the company's stock sink to below $10 for the first time since 1999. The plummet occurred after Pfizer returned all the rights on the company's top prospect, Neurocrine's insomnia treatment Indiplon. Pfizer dropped Neurocrine as a partner after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it could not approve the high-dose extended release version of the drug.
Analysts were expecting that version of the drug to be the key to the market.
In a statement Monday, Neurocrine said it is continuing work on development plans with the FDA for Indiplon. The company has several other drug candidates in mid-stage trials and set 2006 guidance at a net loss of more than $130 million.
Shares of Neurocrine Biosciences fell 27 cents, or 2.8 percent, to close at $9.42 on the Nasdaq. They have traded between $8.61 and $73.13 over the past year.
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Threshold Pharmaceuticals (THLD) sank more than 50% after the company said a proposed treatment for a prostate condition didn't show significant efficacy and caused serious side effects in clinical trial patients.
The drug, dubbed TH-070, didn't significantly reduce symptoms in patients with a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate. In addition, the drug caused 13 patients to have an elevation in liver enzymes compared with two patients receiving a placebo. In six of the patients, the side effects were considered serious adverse events.
Threshold plans to revise its financial guidance for the year. Shares lost $1.50 and were trading at $1.48.
Specialty pharmaceutical company QLT (QLTI) fell 4.9% to $6.59 after the eye-drug maker announced lowered sales of its vision-loss drug Visudyne. According to the company, sales of the treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration fell 26.1% from the second quarter of last year. Sales declined 10.7% from the first quarter.
Eli Lilly's (LLY) drug Gemzar was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat women living with recurrent ovarian cancer. Shares of the drugmaker, which is slated to report its quarterly results later this week, added 34 cents to $54.90.
The approval goes against the March recommendations of an FDA advisory panel, which concluded that the survival advantage of a few weeks for patients taking the drug for ovarian cancer didn't make up for the drug's toxicity risks when used in combination with chemotherapy. Gemzar is already approved to treat pancreatic and lung cancers.
Medical-device makerMedtronic (MDT) received FDA approval for its Guardian continuous glucose-monitoring device for diabetes management. The real-time device is designed to help patients control their glucose levels by alerting them when their blood sugar is too high or low. The company's shares were up 43 cents to $47.48.
Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) shares also moved higher, as investors await the company's quarterly earnings report Tuesday morning. Shares were up 45 cents, or 0.7%, to $60.91.
Other health stocks moving higher included health care management company United American Healthcare (UAHC) , whose shares were up 1.7% to $3, drug developer Novogen (NVGN) , whose shares rose 4.5% to $11.14, and GTC Biotherapeutics (GTCB) , up 5.2% to $1.43.
Among the day's losers were drug-delivery technology company NexMed (NEXM) , down 6.6% to 71 cents a share, biotech giant Genentech (DNA) , down $1.13 to $78.33, and generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) , lower by 11 cents to $30.39.
-- Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. said Monday it widened its losses during the second quarter as revenue shrunk and the company ramped up spending on its sales force.
The biotechnolgy company, with its focus on treating insomnia, said it lost $27.4 million, or 73 cents a share, compared with a loss of $5.6 million, or 15 cents a share a year prior. Revenue shrunk to $9.2 million from $33.2 million as sponsored research and development, and milestone payments, each dropped to below $1 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 72 cents a share on revenue of $22.9 million.
The loss caps a quarter that saw the company's stock sink to below $10 for the first time since 1999. The plummet occurred after Pfizer returned all the rights on the company's top prospect, Neurocrine's insomnia treatment Indiplon. Pfizer dropped Neurocrine as a partner after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it could not approve the high-dose extended release version of the drug.
Analysts were expecting that version of the drug to be the key to the market.
In a statement Monday, Neurocrine said it is continuing work on development plans with the FDA for Indiplon. The company has several other drug candidates in mid-stage trials and set 2006 guidance at a net loss of more than $130 million.
Shares of Neurocrine Biosciences fell 27 cents, or 2.8 percent, to close at $9.42 on the Nasdaq. They have traded between $8.61 and $73.13 over the past year.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Threshold Pharmaceuticals (THLD) sank more than 50% after the company said a proposed treatment for a prostate condition didn't show significant efficacy and caused serious side effects in clinical trial patients.
The drug, dubbed TH-070, didn't significantly reduce symptoms in patients with a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate. In addition, the drug caused 13 patients to have an elevation in liver enzymes compared with two patients receiving a placebo. In six of the patients, the side effects were considered serious adverse events.
Threshold plans to revise its financial guidance for the year. Shares lost $1.50 and were trading at $1.48.
Specialty pharmaceutical company QLT (QLTI) fell 4.9% to $6.59 after the eye-drug maker announced lowered sales of its vision-loss drug Visudyne. According to the company, sales of the treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration fell 26.1% from the second quarter of last year. Sales declined 10.7% from the first quarter.
Eli Lilly's (LLY) drug Gemzar was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat women living with recurrent ovarian cancer. Shares of the drugmaker, which is slated to report its quarterly results later this week, added 34 cents to $54.90.
The approval goes against the March recommendations of an FDA advisory panel, which concluded that the survival advantage of a few weeks for patients taking the drug for ovarian cancer didn't make up for the drug's toxicity risks when used in combination with chemotherapy. Gemzar is already approved to treat pancreatic and lung cancers.
Medical-device makerMedtronic (MDT) received FDA approval for its Guardian continuous glucose-monitoring device for diabetes management. The real-time device is designed to help patients control their glucose levels by alerting them when their blood sugar is too high or low. The company's shares were up 43 cents to $47.48.
Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) shares also moved higher, as investors await the company's quarterly earnings report Tuesday morning. Shares were up 45 cents, or 0.7%, to $60.91.
Other health stocks moving higher included health care management company United American Healthcare (UAHC) , whose shares were up 1.7% to $3, drug developer Novogen (NVGN) , whose shares rose 4.5% to $11.14, and GTC Biotherapeutics (GTCB) , up 5.2% to $1.43.
Among the day's losers were drug-delivery technology company NexMed (NEXM) , down 6.6% to 71 cents a share, biotech giant Genentech (DNA) , down $1.13 to $78.33, and generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) , lower by 11 cents to $30.39.
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