Pharming NV sees 2005 losses of 17.9 M

Dutch firm Pharming NV says that its 2005 losses were 17.9 million euros ($21.3 million), up from the 14.2 million euros the firm reported in 2004. The company says that its costs for the year, which were 18.9 million euros, an increase on the 15.3 million euro expenditure it made in the year-earlier period, pushed its losses higher despite its strong cash position for the year, which was 20.3 million euros as of December 31, 2005.

The company says it has made significant regulatory progress with regard to product approvals. These included: the completion of the regulatory dossier for rhC1INH, the firm's recombinant human C1 inhibitor, for compassionate use filings for hereditary angiodema (Marketletter January 9, 2006); its receipt of an orphan drug designation for rhC1INH for indications beyond HAE; the filing of its recombinant human firbrionogen product (rhFIB) for generally recognized as safe notification with the US Food and Drug Administration; and the initiation of testing of an rhFIB-based bandage in a project funded by the US army.

2005 was also a busy year for Pharming's corporate partnerships development program. The firm established a collaboration with Diosynth, the manufacturing arm of Dutch drugmaker Akzo Nobel, to scale up manufacture of rhC1IHNH for commercialization (Marketletter February 14, 2005). In addition, the company has signed deals with: New Zealand-based AgResearch covering the development and production of human lactoferrin; UK-based NovaThera to combine resources on the design of several new medical device products; and Spain's Laboratorios del Dr Esteve SA covering the further development of rhC1IHNH for the European market.