Alnylam’s Q2 Loss Wider than Expected, Revenues Fall Short

Zacks

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s ALNY reported a loss of 85 cents per share in the second quarter of 2015, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 74 cents and the year-ago loss of 63 cents.

Quarterly revenues increased 19.2% year over year to $8.7 million but were way below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15 million.

The Quarter in Detail

Alnylam’s revenues in the second quarter included $3.4 million from its collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd. TKPYY. The company’s alliance with The Medicines Co. MDCO and Genzyme contributed $2.6 million each and the rest from other sources and research reagent licenses.

For the remaining quarters of 2015, the company anticipates a drop in collaboration revenues primarily due to the completion of revenue amortization under the Takeda agreement.

Research and development (R&D) expenses increased 50% from the year-ago period to $67 million. R&D spend will continue to increase in the remainder of the year compared to the first half.

General and administrative (G&A) expenses increased 26.9% from the year-ago quarter to $14.6million. G&A spend is expected to increase slightly in the second half of the year compared to the first half.

Pipeline Update

In the reported quarter, the company’s investigational RNAi therapeutic candidate, revusiran, was granted Orphan Drug designation by the FDA, for the treatment of transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR amyloidosis). The candidate is currently in phase III development for the treatment of familial amyloidotic cardiomyopathy (FAC).

Meanwhile, the company continues to enroll patients in a phase III study (APOLLO) on patisiran in ATTR amyloidosis patients suffering from familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy and initiated an extended phase III study (APOLLO-OLE) as well.

Alnylam continues to enroll patients in the phase III study (ENDEAVOUR) on revusiran for FAC.

Our Take

Alnylam’s second quarter results were disappointing with the company reporting a wider-than-expected loss and revenues missing expectations. However, we are encouraged by the company’s progress with its pipeline. With several pipeline-related events lined up in the coming quarters, we expect investor focus to remain on the pipeline updates.

Alnylam currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). A better-ranked stock in the health care sector is AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. AMAG sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply