Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter loss widened on higher costs, primarily from a patent lawsuit over its NF-kappa B medical treatments.

The company lost $15.2 million, or 25 cents per share, compared with a loss of $14.6 million, also 25 cents per share. The most recent quarter included about 4.4 million additional shares.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a loss of 28 cents per share.

Revenue fell slightly to $229,000 from $321,000 a year ago. Analysts expected revenue of $480,000.

The company said the loss was primarily due to higher expenses associated with a patent dispute. In May, a federal jury found in favor of Ariad in a case against Eli Lilly. Specifically, it found that Lilly's Evista and Xigiris infringed on a 2002 patent that covers any medical treatment targeting the body's molecular pathway, called NF-kappa B. Ariad is involved in another patent lawsuit involving Amgen Inc.'s arthritis treatments Enbrel and Kineret. Stock option expenses also added to the loss.

Those added costs were offset by lower research and development costs as the company moves toward the end of development on its lead product AP23573, for cancer treatment.

The company ended the quarter with $39.2 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Shares of Ariad rose 2 cents to $4.35 on the Nasdaq in midday trading.