BioDelivery Sciences reports a loss worse than expected; revenues grow at Patheon; and two Triangle biotech firms face the threat of delisting.
The details:
- BioDelivery Sciences reports fourth-quarter loss worse than expectations
RALEIGH. — BioDelivery Sciences International reported on Friday a fourth-quarter loss that was larger than Wall Street expectations.
The Raleigh-based biotech company, which is focusing on drugs to treat pain medication and addictions, reported a net loss of $15.9 million, or loss of 29 cents per share, compared to net income of $10.2 million, or 19 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Analyst had projected a loss of 28 cents per share for the quarter.
Revenue for the quarter was $3.9 million, down from the $32.2 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2015. BioDelivery had received a one-time payment of $30 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.
In January, BioDelivery re-acquired the rights to pain medication drug Belbuca from Endo Pharmaceuticals.
“We were extremely pleased to have reacquired worldwide commercial rights to Belbuca under very attractive financial terms,” said Chief Executive Officer Mark A. Sirgo in a statement. “This transaction can truly be transformative for us, as it will enable our commercial business to potentially reach profitability as early as the end of the current quarter.”
BioDelivery’s other drug is Bunavail, which is used to treat opioid addiction. Revenue for that drug was $2 million in the fourth quarter, up from $1.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Bunavail had 115,000 prescriptions in 2016, according to the company, up 64 percent from 2015. For the fourth quarter, prescriptions rose 4 percent.
BioDelivery shares fell 10 cents, or 5 percent, to $1.90 in Friday trading.
- Patheon revenues surge
DURHAM – Patheon, a provider of pharmaceutical development and manufacturing services, on Thursday reported that its revenues surged 13 percent over a year ago in the quarter ending Jan. 31.
Patheon said revenue $457 million.
Adjusted earnings climbed to $83 million, a 40 percent eyar-over-year increase.
“We drove growth across all three segments during the first quarter, as we continued to help our clients simplify their supply chain networks,” said Patheon CEO Jim Mullen. “The underlying trends supporting our long-term view remain unchanged; however, we are adjusting our full-year outlook to reflect current exchange rates and shifts in the timing of customer volumes and key product approvals.”
Net income hit $28 million with earnings coming in at 19 cents.
- Tenax Therapeutics threatened with delisting from Nasdaq
MORRISVILLE – Tenax Therapeutics Inc. has been notified by the Nasdaq market that its shares could be delisted if it can’t get its stock price back above $1 per share.
In a filing Friday afternoon with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Morrisville, North Carolina-based company said that it is “currently evaluating its alternatives to resolve this listing deficiency.”
To avoid being delisted, Tenax shares must close above $1 per share for 10 consecutive trading days before Sept. 11. If it doesn’t, the company can ask for an 180-day extension.
Tenax shares closed at 65 cents, down 2 cents, on Friday.
Tenax shares fell below $1 on Jan. 31 after the company announced disappointing results from its Phase 3 heart medication LEVO-CTS trial. Its stock price fell by more than 70 percent on that day.
The company plans to release its fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday, March 21.
- Nasdaq threatens to delist Durham-based Heat Biologics
DURHAM — The Nasdaq stock market notified Durham-based Heat Biologics that it will delist its stock from trading unless it can get the price back above $1 per share.
The biotech company’s stock last closed at $1 on Feb. 1. It had been as high as $3.23 in November, but the stock fell by more than 50 percent in early December after the drug developer announced that its bladder cancer drug did not produce favorable results in a Phase 2 trial.
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Heat Biologics has until Sept. 11 to get its stock price back above $1. If it does not do so by that time, the company can ask for an extension.
“The company intends to actively monitor the bid price of its common stock and will consider available options to regain compliance with the NASDAQ listing requirements, including such actions as effecting a reverse stock split to maintain its NASDAQ listing,” it said in the filing.
Heat Biologics has no long-term debt after paying the remaining $2.7 million on a loan from a California bank, Pacific Western Bank, on Dec 6.
Heat Biologics, which was founded in 2008, is focused on the field of cancer immunotherapy. The company’s cancer vaccine is called ImPACT, short for Immune Pan-Antigen Cytotoxic Therapy. ImPACT is in Phase 2 in the most common type of lung cancer and bladder cancer.
The vaccine works by injecting genetically modified cells into a patient to elicit an immune response against the disease target.
Last week, the company acquired another cancer immunotherapy company, Pelican Therapeutics, based in Austin, Texas. That deal is expected to close by April 30.
Note: North Carolina Business News Wire, a service of UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Media and Journalism, contributed to this report.
