Alkermes reports $3M 4th-qtr 2006 net income

US drugmaker Alkermes says that its net income for the three months ended December 31, 2006, was $2.9 million, or $0.03 per basic and diluted share, versus $1.4 million and $0.01 per diluted share in the like, year-ago period, as the firm's fourth-quarter 2006 included a $7.5 million share-based compensation expense which the prior year lacked.

During the period, total revenues reached $62.4 million vs $41.4 million, as manufacturing income reached $28.8 million vs $23.6 million for Risperdal Consta (risperidone, long-acting injection), an atypical antipsychotic medication approved for the treatment of schizophrenia, sold by a unit of Johnson & Johnson, as well as $5.2 million vs $14.7 million for Vivitrol, an extended-release injectable suspension of naltrexone for the treatment of alcohol dependence co-developed with USA-based Cephalon.

The firm's royalty revenues for the quarter totaled $5.7 million thanks to Risperdal Consta sales of $226.0 million vs $4.2 million based on sales of $169.0 million for the same period in 2005.