Vernalis full-year 2000 losses double

Vernalis Group, the UK biotechnology firm, has posted a net loss ofL22.1 million ($31.5 million) for the year ended December 2000, an increase of 86.4% compared with the previous year. The company noted that this figure includes one-time restructuring costs of L2.6 million connected with the acquisition of Cerebrus Pharmaceuticals (Marketletter December 13, 1999) and the latter contributed L7.1 million to Vernalis' total loss.

Extends Roche obesity pact....

Turnover for the year was just over L2.9 million, down from L5.9 million in 1999. Most of this figure was made up of payments from Roche which is collaborating with Vernalis to develop novel and highly-selective 5-HT2c receptor agonists as appetite suppressants. The UK firm also announced that this obesity program, which started in December 1999, has been extended so that the firms will undertake fast-track preclinical development of a lead candidate with the aim of initiating clinical trials around the end of the year. Roche will provide the funding for these studies.