Zeltia's FY2006 loss widens 16% to $58M

Spanish drugmaker Zeltia SA says that its net loss for full-year 2006 widenened 16% on 2005, to 43.8 million euros ($57.9 million), despite a 5.8% revenue increase to 76.2 million euros, as commercial and marketing costs to promote new brands and product lines at its consumer chemical subsidiaries rose 17.5% to 23.4 million euros.

Zeltia's income rise was largely due to its consumer chemicals division, which saw sales increase 13% to 69.8 million euros. Biotechnology revenues totalled 6.9 million euros, including 4.7 million euros from Genomica versus 2.3 million euros in 2005, and 2.2 million euros for its PharmaMar unit.

For the group as a whole, R&D expenditure increased 8.8% to 49.7 million euros, with a 37.2 million-euro payment to PharmaMar and 10.9 million euros to NeuroPharma, an increase of 74% on 2005.