Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter loss grew from a year earlier as its revenue fell and its costs of developing treatments for fungal infections and skin diseases increased.
Anacor said it lost $14.5 million, or 52 cents per share, over the last three months of 2011. A year earlier, Anacor lost $7.5 million, which worked out to 73 cents per share because it had fewer shares on the market. Its revenue slipped to $2.6 million from $3.5 million. Its research and development costs rose 43 percent to $13.9 million.
Analysts expected the company to report a loss of 35 cents per share and $7.5 million in revenue, according to FactSet.
Anacor said its revenue was higher in 2010's fourth quarter because that period included $1.5 million from a federal grant plus revenue from a collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline plc.
Anacor develops drugs based on the element boron. Its drug candidates include tavaborole, which is designed to treat a common infection of the nail and nail bed, and AN2728, a potential treatment for atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.
The company finished enrolling patients in two late-stage trials of tavaborole in the fourth quarter. It plans to report data from one study around the end of 2012 and the second in early 2013, and says it will file for approval of the drug in the first half of 2013. Anacor plans to start several trials of AN2728 in 2012.
Anacor has no products on the market. Most of its revenue comes from development partnerships with drug makers. It reported $2.6 million in contract revenue in the most recent quarter, up from $2.1 million a year ago.
For the year, Anacor lost $47.9 million, or $1.71 per share, compared with a loss of $10.1 million, or $2.71 per share, in 2010. Its full-year revenue fell to $20.3 million from $27.8 million.
Anacord shares rose 3 cents to close Tuesday at $5.59 and were unchanged after hours following the company's report.
