GPC loss grows 49% in 1st-qtr, sales fall 30%

German company GPC Biotech says that, for the three months ended March 31, 2007, its net loss grew 49% to 19.2 million euros ($25.9 million), equivalent to a loss per share of 0.54 euros. Analysts at Lehman Brothers said that the deficit was in line with their forecast of an 18.4 million-euro shortfall for the period.

GPC attributed the decline to a 30% drop in its revenue, to 3.8 million euros, explaining that this was a result of reduced funding from US drugmaker Pharmion as the anticancer agent satraplatin, which the firms are co-developing, nears the end of clinical assessment. The Martinsfried-company added that R&D costs for the period were down 10% to 13.0 million euros, largely due to maturation of data from the SPARC registrational study (Marketletter April 2).

GPC also reported that its general and administrative expenses increased 150% to 11.0 million euros in the first three months of 2007, which it said was mainly due to expansion of its marketing operations. The firm's share price closed up $0.10 at $28.50 in trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on the day of the news, May 15.