Karo Bio losses and sales increase

Sweden's Karo Bio reports that net sales for 2000 increased around 50%to 109.6 million Swedish kroner ($11.5 million) but also says that the operating loss for the year rose to 215.5 million kroner, compared with 42.5 million kroner in 1999 which, after taking account of investment income, resulted in a net loss of 205.1 million kroner. Following the issue of new shares in May of last year, Karo Bio had cash and equivalents and short-term investments amounting to 329.0 million kroner at the end of 2000.

Among the highlights of the year, Karo Bio notes that: a clinical development candidate has been selected in the Bristol-Myers Squibb collaboration, which has been prolonged for one year to develop a second-generation compound; its collaboration with Merck & Co on estrogen receptors has been extended for two more years; it initiated a collaboration on type 2 diabetes with Abbott; Novalon Pharmaceuticals was acquired in May 2000; new collaborations were signed with Aventis, GPC Biotech, NovImmune and Boehringer Ingelheim; and Phase II clinical trials in its skin project started.