Medarex reduces losses in 1st-qtr 2006

New Jersey, USA-headquartered biopharmaceutical firm Medarex says that its net losses for the three-month period ended March 31, 2006, were $36.0 million, a decline on the $46.9 million it lost in the same quarter of 2005. The firm said that the reduction, which beat Wall Street's expectations, is due to a $4.6 million increase in its total revenues, which hit $13.1 million.

The period saw the company begin a second registrational trial of ipilimumab in the second-line treatment of metastatic melanoma. Additionally, the group said it has received an undisclosed milestone payment from ImClone based on the filing of an anticancer antibody with regulatory authorities. The firm's share price rose $0.30, or 2.5%, to $12.35 in trading on the day of the news.