Myriad's 2nd-qtr loss up 10% on higher R&D spend

USA-based biopharmaceutical company Myriad Genetics says that, for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2007, its net loss was $8.8 million, up 10% on its $8.0 million deficit for the corresponding period in the previous financial year.

The company said that the increased loss, which it described as nominal, were partly a result of a 30% hike in its R&D spending, to $24.8 million, in relation to a European Phase III trial of its Alzheimer's disease drug Flurizan (tarenfluribil) and the ongoing development of its anticancer drug Azixa (MPC-6827). In addition, the firm said that a percentage of its expenditure had been used to continue its clinical work on of promising drug candidates MPC-0920 and MPC-2130, for deep vein thrombosis and oncology indications, respectively.

Despite the higher loss, the firm remained upbeat, citing both the 56% increase in its gross profit and 36.2% higher revenues, up to $37.2 million, as reasons for optimism. The company added that the turnover expansion had been driven by the performance of its molecular diagnostics operations which contributed $34.2 million, up 46% on gross-profit margins of 78%.