Teleprevir costs deepen Vertex' 4th-qtr net loss

USA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals says that, for the year ended December 31, 2007, the company's generally-accepted accounting principles net loss was $391.3 million, or $3.03 per share, versus $206.9 million, or $1.83 per share, in the comparable period the year before, driven by an increase in investment to support the progression of its hepatitis C treatment candidate, telaprevir, towards a Phase III pivotal registration program and eventual commercialization.

The non-GAAP loss, before stock-based compensation and restructuring charges for 2007, was $324.8 million, or $2.52 per share, compared to the non-GAAP loss, before stock-based compensation and restructuring and certain other non-recurring charges and gains, of $171.2 million, or $1.51 per share, for full-year 2006.

Total revenues were $199.0 million vs $216.4 million. According to the firm, this was primarily due to a reduction in income recognized from research-based collaborations, as the company has moved towards development-based accords and has less reliance on collaborative funding for its research operations. R&D costs reached $513.1 million, including $75.4 million of commercial supply expenses in telaprevir, compared to $371.7 million, including $27.3 million in commercial supply investment for 2006. The increase primarily relates to investment in two Phase IIb programs for telaprevir, Vertex noted.