Peregrine's FY 2006 hit by high R&D costs

The USA's Peregrine Pharmaceuticals says that its consolidated net loss for the 12 months ended April 2006 deepened 11% on the like, year-ago period, to $17.1 million, or $0.10 per basic and diluted share, on revenues of $3.2 million versus $4.9 million in the prior year.

The cancer and hepatitis C specialist's fiscal year was also impaired by its high cash-burn, which rose 7.7% to $22.3 million due to higher R&D costs related to the advancement of its anticancer drug bavituximab, as the company directed funds at manufacturing, scale-up, preclinical studies and clinical trials to support two separate programs investigating the agent for the treatment of advanced solid cancers and HCV infections, as well as preclinical studies that could possibly support expansion of clinical trials in other anti-viral indications.

Avid Bioservices, Peregrine's wholly-owned contract manufacturing subsidiary, contributed $3.0 million in revenues vs $4.7 million. During the period, the firm utilized this facility to manufacture clinical-grade materials to support its three active clinical trials. Peregrine stressed that it has sufficient cash on hand to progress its current clinical programs through fiscal year 2007.