Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s (ISIS) shares continued to decline after the company reported a wider-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter of 2013. Shares, which declined 9.5% immediately after the release of fourth quarter results, slipped a further 0.2% in the following trading session. Overall, shares were down 9.7%.
Isis Pharma’s fourth quarter 2013 loss of 21 cents per share was wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 17 cents per share. However, fourth quarter 2013 loss was a penny narrower than the year-ago loss of 22 cents per share.
Meanwhile, revenues jumped 112.6% to $42.2 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $31 million. Despite higher expenses, higher revenues led to the narrower year-over-year loss.
Full year 2013 loss came in at 57 cents per share, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 49 cents per share but narrower than the year-ago loss of 79 cents per share. Revenues increased 44.3% to $147.3 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $136 million.
The Quarter in Detail
Isis Pharma provided an update on Kynamro’s performance – Kynamro was launched by partner Genzyme in late Mar 2013. Although the company did not provide specific details on sales, Isis Pharma said that the product launch was a bit slow. However, sales improved sequentially and should continue improving as an additional number of physicians become REMS certified to prescribe Kynamro.
Genzyme has also increased its sales force to support Kynamro's expected sales growth. Apart from the U.S., Kynamro is being marketed in Mexico, Argentina, and South Korea. Meanwhile, data from the FOCUS FH study (a long-term treatment study in patients with severe heterozygous FH) is ongoing with data due in the first half of 2015.
Operating expenses increased 35% in the fourth quarter of 2013 to $62.1 million mainly due to pipeline progress. Research, development and patent expenses increased 34.3% to $57.4 million and general and administrative expenses were up 44.6% to $4.7 million.
Expenses will continue increasing as the company moves ahead with the development of candidates like ISIS-APOCIIIRx (cholesterol management), ISIS-SMNRx (spinal muscular atrophy) and ISIS-TTRRx (transthyretin amyloidosis).
The company expects to have three drugs in phase III development and 10 in phase II by the end of this year.
Isis Pharma is guiding towards net operating loss in the low $50 million range and expects to end the year with a cash balance of more than $575 million. Guidance does not include any revenues under the Kynamro profit-sharing arrangement.
Isis Pharma currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the biotech sector include Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALXN), Alkermes plc (ALKS) and Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD). All three are Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks.
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
Be the first to comment