17th Apr 2019 11:17
LONDON (Alliance News) - Amryt Pharma PLC on Wednesday said its annual loss narrowed as a result of increased revenue from its drug Lojuxta.
The company's pretax loss shrank to EUR25.7 million in 2018 from EUR26.1 million the year before, as revenue increased 13% to EUR14.5 million from EUR12.8 million.
This was largely the result of revenue from Lojuxta. Lojuxta treats the rare and potentially fatal disorder homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia, in which the body is unable to remove excess cholesterol from the blood.
Revenue from Lojuxta grew by 14% to EUR13.6 million.
"During the year, we expanded our Lojuxta licenced territories to 23 countries, and importantly we were granted approval for funding both as an NHS treatment in England, and for patients in France. We also received our first prescriptions for patients in Saudi Arabia," said Chief Executive Joe Wiley.
This growth has continued and the first quarter of 2019 Lojuxta revenue was up 28% over the same period of 2018.
Administrative, selling, and marketing expenses increased to EUR15.4 million from EUR11.0 million but research and development expenses were down at EUR9.0 million from EUR10.6 million.
Looking ahead, Amryt is focused on AP101, its lead development asset, which treats epidermolysis bullosa. EB covers a group of genetic disorders that lead to fragile and blister-prone skin.
An interim efficacy analysis of Amryt's phase three Ease trial of AP101 has completed and it was recommended the trial continue with "only a modest increase in patient numbers".
Wiley said: "We are excited by the potential for this novel gene therapy in EB and beyond. We continue to evaluate new opportunities and expect to further deliver on our strategy to acquire, develop and commercialise orphan drugs as we move through 2019. We expect that this continued progress will bring us closer to realising our vision of becoming a global leader in rare and orphan diseases."
Shares in Amryt were up 1.0% at 12.50 pence on Wednesday morning.
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