deCODE genetics 2005 losses reach $62.8 M

Icelandic biopharmaceutical company deCODE genetics says that its losses increased to $62.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2005, from the $57.3 million it lost in 2004. Basic and diluted net loss per share was $1.17 for the full year, compared with a $1.07 loss per share it recorded a year earlier.

Losses linked to higher R&D costs

deCODE says that the principal factor in this increase was higher R&D costs, which amounted to $43.7 million for the year, and expenses related to clinical trials and preclinical drug development work. The firm says that it is preparing for a Phase III trial of DG031, its lead product candidate for the prevention of heart attacks, which will be examined under the US Food and Drug Administration's Special Protocol Assessment. The group also reported progress on the preclinical development of DG051, an inhibitor of leukotriene A4 hydrolase, for the prevention of inflammation produced in atherosclerotic plaques and heart attack.