Drugmaker ViroPharma Inc. on Wednesday said fourth-quarter earnings fell 75 percent as net product sales decreased.

Net income totaled $18 million, or 25 cents per share, versus $72.7 million, or $1.17 per share in the year-ago period.

Revenue fell 5 percent to $38.6 million from $40.5 million in the prior-year quarter. Net product sales for its Vancocin treatment for intestinal bacterial infections fell 5 percent to $38.5 million, while milestone and license fee revenue was steady at $141,000.

Total costs and expenses increased 10 percent to $13.5 million, with marketing, general and administrative costs more than doubling to $7.1 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected net income of 20 cents per share on revenue of $40 million.

For the year, net income fell 41 percent to $66.7 million, or 95 cents per share, from $113.7 million, or $2.02 per share in 2005.

Revenue grew 26 percent to $167.2 million from $132.4 million in 2005.

ViroPharma shares fell $1.60, or 9.8 percent, to $14.87 in morning trading on the Nasdaq.

A JPMorgan analyst Thursday downgraded laboratory research products maker Invitrogen Corp., saying its shares were priced fairly and the company's restructuring plan would not pay off until 2008.

Analyst Tycho W. Peterson rated the stock at "Neutral," down from "Overweight." He said the Carlsbad, Calif., company is improving its operations, divesting its BioReliance subsidiary and combining other segments. However, he said it is risky to assume the stock will gain value in the short term.

"We believe the current restructuring will at least take the better part of this year, with benefits only beginning to be fully realized in 08," he said.

Although Peterson called Invitrogen's fourth quarter "modestly better than most had anticipated," he expects the company to post a bigger loss in the first quarter of 2007 than it did in the fourth quarter of 2007. He cut his earnings per share forecast for the year to $3.37 from $3.42.

Invitrogen shares closed at $66.99 Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has gained $10.40, or 18.4 percent, in 2007.

Britain's Shire Plc has agreed to buy U.S. partner New River Pharmaceuticals for $2.6 billion to gain full control of the two firms' new drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Vyvanse.

Shire's shares jumped as much as 4.5 percent to a 5-1/2 year high of 1,123 pence on news of the deal on Tuesday. New River shares rose 8.8 percent to $63.50 before the opening in New York.

Shire, Britain's third-biggest drugmaker, expects Vyvanse to be approved by U.S. regulators later this week and thinks it can be a $1-billion-a-year successor to its top-selling ADHD drug Adderall XR, which is due to lose patent protection in 2009.

Shire said it would pay $64 a share in cash for New River and finance the deal with $2.3 billion of new debt facilities, as well as a placing of new shares to raise about $800 million.

The company later said it had placed a total of around 42.9 million new shares at 1,075p each, raising gross proceeds of around $900 million or 461 million pounds.

The new shares represented around 8.4 percent of Shire's share capital before the placing.

The price amounts to almost a 10 percent premium over New River's closing share price of $58.35 on Friday, when its shares rose 6 percent on the day. U.S. markets were closed on Monday.

Aastrom Biosciences Inc., a developer of stem cell therapies, said Wednesday follow-up data on an early-to-midstage study indicated its tissue repair cells may help bone regeneration.

The 12-month follow-up showed that 18 of the 20 patients involved with severe long bone fractures had multiple bone bridges, which is a sign of bone regeneration. In all, 36 patients are involved in the follow-up, but only 20 have completed the 12-month period.

The patients all had fractures in either their tibia, femur or humerus bones which failed to heal with standard bone grafting and surgical treatments.

Shares of Aastrom rose 5 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $1.49 in morning trading on the Nasdaq.

- Invitrogen Corp., which makes kits used by researchers for gene cloning, on Tuesday reported a loss for the fourth quarter on consolidation and acquisition charges.

The company lost $100.2 million, or $2.08 per share, compared with a profit of $45.5 million, or 87 cents per share, during the same period a year prior. Excluding charges, the company said it earned $1.01 per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected profit of 73 cents per share, excluding charges.

Revenue rose to $329.8 million from $325.3 million. Analysts expected revenue of $314.7 million.

For the full year, the company lost $191 million, or $3.72 per share, compared with a profit of $132 million, or $2.33 per share. Revenue rose to $1.26 billion from $1.2 billion.

The company said it expects revenue from continuing operations to increase by the low-to-mid single digits in 2007. Profit, excluding charges, is expected to increase by two to three times the rate of revenue.

Shares of Invitrogen fell 53 cents to close at $60.36 on the Nasdaq. IN aftermarket electronic trading, shares gained $3.14, or 5.2 percent, to $63.50.

The AMEX Biotech Index ($BTK) is heading toward testing support at the 50 day moving average. The index successfully tested support in January and another move off these levels could be a bullish signal as it confirms strong technical support at the 50 dma.

Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp. and Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday that they stopped a successful clinical trial for a liver cancer treatment and will seek global marketing approval.

Shares of Onyx jumped $5.74, or 46.8 percent, to $18 in electronic premarket activity, after closing at $12.26 Friday on the Nasdaq. Shares have traded between $10.38 and $29.10 over the past 52 weeks. American depositary shares of Bayer's parent rose 21 cents to $58.04.

West Haven, Conn.-based Onyx and the Emeryville, Calif-based unit of German drugmaker Bayer AG said a data monitoring committee determined that study data showed Nexavar, or sorafenib, significantly increased the survival rate in patients with advanced liver cancer compared with patients taking a placebo. The committee also found no significant difference in side effects between Nexavar and the placebo.

Based on the findings, the companies will stop the trial early and allow all patients in the study access to the drug.

The companies said they will approach the Food and Drug Administration and European regulators to try to get Nexavar approved as quickly as possible given the limited available therapies for advanced liver cancer.

Bayer and Onyx said they will release results of the trial at a major cancer meeting in June.

British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC and XenoPort Inc. said Thursday they will partner to develop and market a XenoPort drug candidate to treat nerve pain and Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS).

XenoPort shares hit a 52-week high of $30.37, and were up $4.71, or 18.7 percent, to $29.95 in morning trading on the Nasdaq at more than four times their average trading volume. Shares have traded between $15.50 and $27.75 the past 52 weeks.

Under the exclusive agreement which is subject to U.S. antitrust review, GlaxoSmithKline will pay XenoPort $75 million up front for worldwide rights, with the exception of certain countries in Asia, to XP13512, an improved form of the nerve drug gabapentin.

XenoPort is also entitled to up to $65 million in development milestone payments, $210 million in other potential development and regulatory milestone payments and up to $290 million in potential sales milestone payments. Maximum milestone payments depend on getting drug market approval to treat neuropathic pain and RLS.

If XP13512 is approved for sale, XenoPort is also entitled to royalties.

The drug candidate is currently in late-stage clinical trials for RLS and in mid-stage clinical trials for neuropathic pain. RLS is a nerve disorder in which the limbs -- most often the legs -- tremble or twitch uncontrollably.

U.S. shares of GlaxoSmithKline rose 54 cents to $55.89 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Increased sales of flu and child-respiratory drugs helped MedImmune Inc. post a fourth-quarter profit that beat expectations on Wednesday, bouncing back from a year-ago loss due to acquisition costs.

But the drugmaker's sales came up short of Wall Street's expectations and the stock fell $3.06, or 9 percent, to $30.95 in morning trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Gaithersburg-based MedImmune earned $120.7 million, or 50 cents per share, compared with a loss of $22.4 million, or 9 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding stock option expenses, the company reported earnings per share of $155 million, or 64 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings per share of 54 cents, excluding stock option expenses.

In 2005, the drug company acquired Cellective Therapeutics Inc. Without the cost of the acquisition, the company reported earnings per share of 13 cents for the fourth quarter of 2005.

Revenue rose nearly 8 percent to $528.7 million in the latest quarter from $492 million in the year-ago period, as sales of respiratory virus treatment Synagis grew to $457 million from $439 million on strong U.S. sales. However, sales for the quarter were not up to Wall Street expectations. Analysts forecast revenue of $555.5 million, expecting strong performance on Synagis. For the year, Synagis sales were flat at $1.1 billion.

The company said sales of its inhaled influenza vaccine FluMist were up sharply in the fourth quarter, generating $18 million in revenue compared with $8 million in the 2005 fourth quarter.

FluMist -- once thought to be a blockbuster drug -- has been hobbled by limits on who can use it and requirements that it be stored in a freezer. In an attempt to revive the vaccine, MedImmune is preparing a version that can be more easily stored in a refrigerator and can be used for young children, a key patient group for flu vaccines. FluMist is made from weakened live virus and is sprayed into the nose. The traditional flu shot contains dead flu virus and is delivered through a needle jab in the arm.

Despite the higher fourth-quarter numbers, sales of 2.4 million doses for the 2006-2007 flu season still fell short of the company's projections of 3 million doses. Company Chief Executive Officer David Mott attributed the lower numbers to limits on who can use the drug and how it is stored, combined with a relatively light flu season.

"Hopefully we are not quite finished with this year's flu season," he said.

For the full year, the company said it exceeded its earnings guidance by posting net income of $48.7 million, or 20 cents per share, up from a loss of $16.6 million, or 7 cents per share, in 2005. Excluding stock option expenses, the company reported earnings per share of 30 cents for the latest year. Revenue rose to $1.28 billion from $1.24 billion.

Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. reports earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter on Thursday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: Millennium announced early in the quarter that it would cut 14 percent of its staff to increase its focus on Velcade, the company's only commercial drug. The move leaves the company with about 1,000 employees. The company conceded to Genzyme in a bidding war over AnorMed Inc. Both companies had been one-upping the other to buy the Canadian company and obtain its lead drug candidate, Mozobil, a stem-cell transplant treatment in late-stage studies.

As a result of pulling out of the deal, AnorMed gave the Millennium a $19.5 million termination fee.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect fourth-quarter profit of 7 cents per share on revenue of $134.4 million. For the full year, analysts expect profit of 11 cents per share, excluding stock option expenses, on revenue of $481 million.

Millennium expects a full-year profit of between $10 million and $20 million, excluding charges, or a loss between $50 million and $60 million including charges.

ANALYST TAKE: Analysts don't expect any surprises in the company's fourth-quarter results, after Millennium announced full-year Velcade sales of $220 million.

Merrill Lynch analyst Tom McGahren expects the company's fourth-quarter profit to fall just shy of Wall Street expectations, coming in at 6 cents per share. More concerning, he wrote in a note to investors, is the 2007 outlook and updates on clinical trials for Velcade in front-line multiple myeloma and other forms of cancer.

Piper Jaffray analyst Rachel McMinn, looking toward 2007, said she doesn't expect Velcade sales to outperform the company's guidance of between $240 million and $260 million and has set 2007 sales expectations at $233 million.

"We continue to view 2007 as a challenging year for significant Velcade growth," she said, citing several factors.

Those factors include competition from Celgene Corp.'s Revlimid and limited potential for Velcade in its recently approved mantle cell lymphoma indication.

WHAT'S AHEAD: While Velcade is undergoing studies for several other indications, the company has a small mix of drug candidates in its clinical pipeline. Those include one drug candidate being tested in midstage trials for multiple sclerosis and atherosclerosis and another in midstage trials for rheumatoid arthritis.

STOCK PERFORMANCE: Shares of Millennium gained 10.1 percent over the quarter after opening Oct. 2 at $9.90 and closing Dec. 29 at $10.90 on the Nasdaq. The stock hit a 52-week high of $12.08 on Nov. 8.

Shares Genetic variation analysis equipment maker Illumina Inc. fell Monday following a downgrade by Goldman Sachs citing the company's outlook for higher expenses in 2007.

The stock lost $1.43, or 3.9 percent, to reach $35.73 on the Nasdaq in afternoon trading. Shares have traded between $19.90 and $45.87 over the last 52 weeks.

On Thursday, the San Diego-based company reported a doubling of fourth-quarter revenue to $60.4 million and a profit of 34 cents per share compared with 1-cent per share a year prior.

Illumina forecast it would see revenue in 2007 above expectations, at a range between $295 million and $315 million and projected earnings -- including options expenses -- of 52 cents per share, shy of Wall Street's outlook for 57 cents per share. The company said its annual results would be shaved by about $20 million to $25 million for stock-options costs.

Additionally, predictions of a doubling in research and development costs to between $63 million and $73 million, as well as a sharp increase in selling, general and administrative costs, dragged down shares.

The company forecast first-quarter earnings of 7 cents per share, versus the 10 cents per share profit Wall Street is anticipating, and revenue of $64 million to $68 million.

Goldman Sachs analyst May-Kin Ho reaffirmed a "Neutral" rating for the stock in a note to investors late Friday, but cut earnings expectations to 60 cents per share and 96 cents per share from 73 cents per share and $1 per share, respectively for 2007 and 2008. Also, the target price calculation shifted to 2008 instead of 2007, Ho wrote and is now $41 instead of $36.

Illumina is involved in an ongoing patent lawsuit with rival Affymetrix Inc. and the trial could hang over the company for the long-term, Ho wrote.

"We expect increasing pressure on Illumina shares ahead of the trial against Affymetrix, which begins March 5," Ho wrote. "Appeals are likely and the final decision may take years to reach. A negative legal outcome could result in significant payments to Affymetrix and/or loss in sales."

Drug maker Celgene Corp. said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit rose nearly sixfold as sales jumped.

Net income grew to $22.9 million, or 6 cents per share, from $3.9 million, or 1 cent per share, a year ago. Excluding stock option expenses, the company reported adjusted earnings of 18 cents per share, which matched expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Revenue rose 84 percent to $275 million from $149.3 million last year, driven by sales of the cancer drugs Thalomid and Revlimid. Analysts expected revenue of $268.4 million.

For the full year, the company posted net income of $69 million, or 18 cents per share, up from $63.7 million, or 18 cents per share, in 2005. Revenue rose to $898.9 million from $536.9 million.