* Idenix says to seek new partner for the drug
* Idenix posts narrower-than-expected Q3 loss
* Shares sink 20 pct after the bell
Oct 29 (Reuters) - Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc said Novartis Pharma AG has decided not to exercise its option to license Idenix's hepatitis C drug, sending Idenix shares down 20 percent.
Idenix continue to develop the drug, IDX184, and will seek a new partner, it said.
Idenix also reported a narrower-than-expected third-quarter loss as it tightened operating expenses.
For the third quarter, the company posted net loss of $11.7 million, or 18 cents per share, compared with net loss of $16.9 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier.
Total revenue rose 48 percent to $3.1 million, while operating expenses fell 24 percent to $15.1 million.
Analysts on average had expected the company to post a loss of 24 cents a share, on revenue of $3.03 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shares of the biopharmaceutical company fell 20 percent to $2.00 after the bell Thursday. They closed at $2.50 on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Anuradha Ramanathan in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) Keywords: IDENIXPHARMACEUTICALS/ (anuradha.ramanathan@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800: Reuters Messaging: anuradha.ramanathan.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
* Idenix posts narrower-than-expected Q3 loss
* Shares sink 20 pct after the bell
Oct 29 (Reuters) - Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc said Novartis Pharma AG has decided not to exercise its option to license Idenix's hepatitis C drug, sending Idenix shares down 20 percent.
Idenix continue to develop the drug, IDX184, and will seek a new partner, it said.
Idenix also reported a narrower-than-expected third-quarter loss as it tightened operating expenses.
For the third quarter, the company posted net loss of $11.7 million, or 18 cents per share, compared with net loss of $16.9 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier.
Total revenue rose 48 percent to $3.1 million, while operating expenses fell 24 percent to $15.1 million.
Analysts on average had expected the company to post a loss of 24 cents a share, on revenue of $3.03 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shares of the biopharmaceutical company fell 20 percent to $2.00 after the bell Thursday. They closed at $2.50 on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Anuradha Ramanathan in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) Keywords: IDENIXPHARMACEUTICALS/ (anuradha.ramanathan@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800: Reuters Messaging: anuradha.ramanathan.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
