R&D expenses increase TopoTarget's loss 26%

Danish drugmaker TopoTarget says that, for the nine months ended September 30, 2007, its loss was 155.3 million Danish kroner ($30.3 million), a 26.5% increase on the 122.8 million kroner deficit it reported last year. The firm said that expenditure associated with the integration of Apoxis SA, acquired earlier this year for $19.5 million (Marketletter April 16), as well as costs arising from the initiation of Phase I/II belinostat trials, had impacted on its income.

Despite this, TopoTarget remained upbeat, commenting that data from various trials of belinostat in a range of oncology indications continues to indicate the drug's potential. The Copenhagen-headquartered company went on to say that, in collaboration with development partner USA-based CuraGen, it expects to present findings from several belinostat studies at the American Society of Hematology meeting in December.

Additionally, TopoTarget said that the US launch of Totect (dexrazone; known as Savene in Europe), its extravasation treatment, has been positively received. The firm, which was also named in Ernst and Young's top 10 most innovative biotechnology companies in the period, lowered its full-year loss guidance to between 255.0 million kroner and 275.0 million kroner.