Sharp Rise In Revenues For IDEC

IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corp has announced a sharp rise in revenues for thethird quarter ended September 30, 1997, which reached $6.4 million compared to $2.9 million for the corresponding period last year.

The company said that the increase was primarily due to bulk sales of its anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody Rituxan (rituximab; Marketletter September 8) to IDEC's partner Genentech, and a development milestone from its collaboration with Japan's Seikagaku Corp.

Net losses for the third quarter were $9.6 million, or $0.51 per share, compared to a net loss of $4.5 million, or $0.26 per share for the same period in 1996, while operating expenses more than doubled to $16.7 million. IDEC said that the considerable rise in costs was a result of the bulk manufacture and increased expenses preparing for the commercialization of Rituxan (which received US Food and Drug Administration approval on November 26; more details next week), as well as other licensing costs.