Valeant slumps into 3rd-qtr $12M loss

California, USA-based drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals says that problems with its distribution chain and weak US sales of Zelapar (selegiline HCl) and Kinerase (N6-furfuryladenine) were key to its poor third-quarter performance. The firm swung into a $12.0 million loss for the period ended September 30, 2007, in stark contrast to the $13.7 million profit it recorded in the comparable three months last year.

Total revenue for the quarter was down 1% to $208.6 million, short of the consensus forecast of $229.5 million that emerged from a Thomson Financial analyst survey. The contribution from Valeant's alliance with Roche, which covers the antiviral ribavirin, declined 33% to $14.1 million, due to increased competition in Europe and Japan.

Valeant's chief executive, Timothy Tyson, admitted that the firm's performance in the quarter was "disappointing." He added that, aside from the issues already mentioned, higher R&D expenditure, a flat 70% margin and costs associated with sales force restructuring, had been key factors in the period. Additionally, a $9.8 million loss due to discontinued operations, primarily relating to the soon-to-be-divested hepatitis C drug Infergen (interferon alfacon 1), had also impacted on the company's performance.