Allergy Thera reports progress in 2005

UK-headquartered pharmaceuticals group Allergy Therapeutics says that it saw losses of L670,000 ($1.2 million) for the six-months ended December 31, 2005, a decline from the L2.5 million profit it made in the comparable period in 2004. The firm says that the loss was caused by increased developmental costs which grew from L665,000 in the second half of 2004 to L5.6 million in 2005.

In total during the six months, 10 clinical trials were carried out, six of which were completed, including the Canadian study of the short course allergy vaccine Pollinex Quattro, which produced positive results in March this year. Early last year, the UK group licensed the product to Canada's Allerpharma for milestone payments of up to L8.0 million and future royalties (Marketletter January 3 & 10, 2005).

Allergy Therapeutics also says it saw revenue growth from product sales in the majority of its key markets. This included a L10.0 milion contribution from its German operations, L3.0 million from sales in the rest of Europe and L39,000 from North America. The company added that it would continue to expand its sales and marketing force in the European Union, targeting Poland, Austria, the UK and the Czech and Slovak Republics as key markets for its products.