Alkermes' fiscal-2008 income soars on Reliant

US drugmaker Alkermes' GAAP net income for the 12 months ended March 31, 2008, was $167.0 million, or $1.66 per basic and $1.62 per diluted share, compared to a net income of $9.4 million, $0.10 per basic and $0.09 per diluted share, in the year-ago period.

During fiscal 2008, the firm was boosted by $174.6 million from the sale of its stake in Reliant Pharmaceuticals, which was bought by UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline in a $1.65 billion deal (Marketletter November 26, 2007). This one-off payment more than offset restructuring and impairment charges of $18.1 million related to US drug major Eli Lilly's decision to terminate the AIR Insulin program (Marketletter March 17).

Total revenues for fiscal 2008 were $240.7 million versus $240.0 million, as total manufacturing revenues amounted to $101.7 million vs $105.4 million, and royalty revenues reached $29.5 million, based on sales of the antipsychotic Risperdal Consta (risperidone) by US health care major Johnson & Johnson of $1.2 billion, vs $23.2 million, on sales of $924.2 million. R&D income under collaborative arrangements was $89.5 million vs $74.5 million, while net collaborative profit fell to $20.0 million from $36.9 million.