Reliant sale boosts Alkermes 3rd-qtr EPS

US drugmaker Alkermes says that net income in the three months ended December 31, 2007, was $168.9 million, with basic earnings per share of $1.66 and a diluted EPS of $1.63, versus earnings in the comparable period last year of $2.9 million, or $0.03 per share, which included a $7.5 million share-based compensation expense.

During fiscal third-quarter 2008, earnings were boosted by $174.6 million from the sale of the company's stake in privately-held US heart drug specialist Reliant Pharmaceuticals, which was bought by UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline in a $1.65 billion deal (Marketletter November 26, 2007). Total revenues for the period were $50.8 million versus $62.4 million, as production of the antipsychotic Risperdal Consta (risperidone) fell to $12.9 million from $23.6 million, and turnover from Vivitrol, an extended-release injectable naltrexone for alcohol dependence, fell to $1.4 million from $5.2 million. According to the firm, the decrease in manufacturing revenues for Risperdal Consta was a result of planned lower shipments to Janssen as it manages its level of product inventory. The firm expects income from this source to range from $26.0 million to $30.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008.