Abraxis Loss Widens on Re-Acquisition Costs

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Abraxis Bioscience Inc. on Tuesday reported a wider fourth quarter loss primarily due to costs of buying back the U.S. marketing rights to its Abraxane cancer drug from former partner AstraZeneca.

The Los Angeles biotech reported a net loss of nearly $182 million (-$4.54 per share), compared with a loss of $5.2 million (-13 cents) a year ago. Net revenue rose 1.5 percent to $92.2 million.

Abraxis recorded $159 million in re-acquisition costs in connecting with canceling the co-marketing deal with AstraZeneca, whose larger marketing and sales force had provided a key boost soon after Abraxane’s 2006 launch. The co-promotion agreement was canceled effective January 2.

Abraxis said it canceled the deal to give it more flexibility, and greater potential gain, from working to add new uses and markets for Abraxane, which has been approved in several countries for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. The company announced in January that is spinning off Abraxis Health, which will focus on biomarkers and personalized medicine, so it can re-focus Abraxis Bioscience as an oncology company.

Without the costs, the adjusted net loss for the quarter would have been $8.4 million (-21 cents), compared to adjusted net income of $9.4 million (23 cents)

“In 2008, we made considerable achievements building our Abraxane commercial franchise on a global basis,” said Chief Executive Patrick Soon-Shiong in a statement.

Shares of Abraxis BioScience fell $1, or nearly 2 percent, to $58 in morning trading on the Nasdaq.

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