By Deena Beasley
LOS ANGELES, April 16 (Reuters) - Amylin Pharmaceuticals , the object of a proxy fight, posted a narrower first- quarter loss on Wednesday on reduced costs, but sales of its flagship diabetes drug, Byetta, fell slightly sending its shares down 1.2 percent.
Sales of Byetta, co-marketed with Eli Lilly and Co, fell to $157.7 million, as reports of pancreatitis risk continued to hurt sales. Amylin said it and Lilly will restructure their partnership, resulting in an integrated team located in San Diego.
Analysts had expected Byetta sales of $164 million, said Canaccord Adams analyst Adam Cutler.
'They beat slightly on the bottom line, but it looks like they missed expectations in terms of Byetta sales and Symlin sales,' he said.
Quarterly sales of Symlin, another diabetes drug, totaled $21.6 million.
Adams said investors are focused on the timeline for approval of a once-weekly form of Byetta, known generically as exenatide, which Amylin said it still expects to file with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this quarter.
'The sales trends with current products make Amylin that much more dependent on a timely approval and strong launch,' of once-weekly drug, he said.
The biopharmaceutical company posted a quarterly loss of $47 million, or 34 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $71.1 million, or 52 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts expected a loss of 35 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Total revenue for the quarter fell nearly 2 percent to $193.7 million, which was short of analysts' average estimate of $204.9 million.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who holds a more than 9 percent stake in Amylin, called on Wednesday for company Chairman Joseph Cook to step down.
Icahn has put up his own five-person slate of nominees to Amylin's board, as has Eastbourne Capital Management.
Adams said he was 'a little bit puzzled' by the proxy fight, since the goals of the dissidents remain murky.
'I am skeptical that an acquirer would step in and pay a premium before LAR (once-weekly exenatide) gets approved,' he said.
Amylin shares, which fell 1.2 percent to close at $10.38 on Nasdaq, were at $9.95 after hours.
(Reporting by Deena Beasley; Editing by Richard Chang and Andre Grenon) Keywords: AMYLIN/ (deena.beasley@thomsonreuters.com +1-213-955-6746; Reuters Messaging: deena.beasley.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.
LOS ANGELES, April 16 (Reuters) - Amylin Pharmaceuticals , the object of a proxy fight, posted a narrower first- quarter loss on Wednesday on reduced costs, but sales of its flagship diabetes drug, Byetta, fell slightly sending its shares down 1.2 percent.
Sales of Byetta, co-marketed with Eli Lilly and Co, fell to $157.7 million, as reports of pancreatitis risk continued to hurt sales. Amylin said it and Lilly will restructure their partnership, resulting in an integrated team located in San Diego.
Analysts had expected Byetta sales of $164 million, said Canaccord Adams analyst Adam Cutler.
'They beat slightly on the bottom line, but it looks like they missed expectations in terms of Byetta sales and Symlin sales,' he said.
Quarterly sales of Symlin, another diabetes drug, totaled $21.6 million.
Adams said investors are focused on the timeline for approval of a once-weekly form of Byetta, known generically as exenatide, which Amylin said it still expects to file with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this quarter.
'The sales trends with current products make Amylin that much more dependent on a timely approval and strong launch,' of once-weekly drug, he said.
The biopharmaceutical company posted a quarterly loss of $47 million, or 34 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $71.1 million, or 52 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts expected a loss of 35 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Total revenue for the quarter fell nearly 2 percent to $193.7 million, which was short of analysts' average estimate of $204.9 million.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who holds a more than 9 percent stake in Amylin, called on Wednesday for company Chairman Joseph Cook to step down.
Icahn has put up his own five-person slate of nominees to Amylin's board, as has Eastbourne Capital Management.
Adams said he was 'a little bit puzzled' by the proxy fight, since the goals of the dissidents remain murky.
'I am skeptical that an acquirer would step in and pay a premium before LAR (once-weekly exenatide) gets approved,' he said.
Amylin shares, which fell 1.2 percent to close at $10.38 on Nasdaq, were at $9.95 after hours.
(Reporting by Deena Beasley; Editing by Richard Chang and Andre Grenon) Keywords: AMYLIN/ (deena.beasley@thomsonreuters.com +1-213-955-6746; Reuters Messaging: deena.beasley.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.