AEterna's 3rd qtr loss quadruples on costs

Canadian biopharmaceutical company AEterna Zentaris reported a third quarter 2007 loss of $8.7 million, up from the $1.6 million deficit it posted in the comparable year-earlier period. The firm attributed the increase to higher R&D costs, up 63.3% to $10.1 million, and a 33.4% hike, to $6.1 million, in its selling, general and administrative costs.

The higher development expenditure was largely a result of costs incurred due to ongoing Phase III trials of AEterna's drug Cetrotide (cetrolix) in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (Marketletters passim).

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