Amylin hits 6-year low on Byetta LAR concerns

Shares in Amylin fell to a six-year low after the US drugmaker on disappointing third-quarter 2008 results and concerns that its once-weekly formulation of Byetta (exenatide) may take longer than anticipated to reach the market.

On October 21, the stock fell 6% to close at $11.96, after earlier in the day Amylin had reported that net loss almost doubled to $77.7 million, or $0.57 per share, below the $0.50 per share loss predicted by Wall Street analysts.

Net product sales grew 14% to $201.4 million, with a $21.5 million contribution from Symlin (pramlintide acetate) injection. Sales of Amylin's lead product Byetta injection jumped 12% to $179.9 million. Despite the increase, its performance was still below expectations following reports of fatal cases of pancreatitis earlier this year (Marketletter September 1).