Trimeris Says Year Sales of Fuzeon Will Be Lower Than Expected, Still Sees Profit for 2006

Trimeris Inc. said Wednesday 2006 sales of its Fuzeon HIV treatment will miss its targets, but the biopharmaceutical added it expects to post its first-ever profit for the year since it began operations 13 years ago.

Sales of Fuzeon, a fusion inhibitor, in the U.S. and Canada are now pegged in a range of $126 million to $134 million for the year versus a prior range of $140 million to $150 million. The revised guidance represents growth of 12 to 19 percent growth over 2005.

"Slower than anticipated adoption of the newest HIV protease inhibitors has provided less momentum than we expected for boosting new Fuzeon prescriptions," said Steven D. Skolsky, chief executive. "Nevertheless, we believe that the proven contribution that Fuzeon is making toward the achievement of undetectable viral load in treatment-experienced HIV patients will continue to drive future worldwide growth of Fuzeon. We anticipate that this, combined with the improvement we've seen in Fuzeon gross margins, will propel the company to its first profitable year since it began operations in 1993."

In the second quarter, North American sales of Fuzeon rose 23 percent to reach $31.1 million, and worldwide sales rose 6 percent to reach $57.2 million.

Separately, Trimeris and Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche said the Food and Drug Administration is seeking more information on their application for a version of Fuzeon to be administered with a needle-free device.

According to a Thomson Financial survey, seven analysts surveyed forecast, on average, a profit of 11 cents per share for 2006.

In after-hours trading, Trimeris shares plunged $1.16, or 12.8 percent, to $7.90.