* Q1 loss C$0.19/shr vs yr-ago loss C$0.35
* Revenue down 50 pct
May 15 (Reuters) - Canadian drug maker Cardiome Pharma Corp posted a narrower quarterly loss, helped by lower research and development costs tied to its experimental drugs vernakalant and GED-aPC.
Research and development expenditures declined about 58 percent to C$7.7 million.
Cardiome, which was developing vernakalant for the prevention of recurrence of irregular heart beats, said costs reduced in part due to the completion of a mid-stage trial for the oral drug in 2008.
In April, Cardiome licensed the drug to Merck & Co..
For the first quarter ended March 31, the company reported a loss of C$12 million ($10.18 million), or 19 Canadian cents per share, compared with a loss of C$22.2 million, or 35 Canadian cents per share, a year-ago.
Revenue fell 50 percent to C$0.2 million.
Analysts on average were expecting the company to post a loss of 20 Canadian cents, before items, on revenue of C$0.3 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Cardiome shares closed at C$4.91 Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
($1=1.179 Canadian Dollar)
(Reporting by R. Manikandan in Bangalore; Editing by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri) Keywords: CARDIOME/ (raman.manikandan@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: raman.manikandan.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.
* Revenue down 50 pct
May 15 (Reuters) - Canadian drug maker Cardiome Pharma Corp posted a narrower quarterly loss, helped by lower research and development costs tied to its experimental drugs vernakalant and GED-aPC.
Research and development expenditures declined about 58 percent to C$7.7 million.
Cardiome, which was developing vernakalant for the prevention of recurrence of irregular heart beats, said costs reduced in part due to the completion of a mid-stage trial for the oral drug in 2008.
In April, Cardiome licensed the drug to Merck & Co..
For the first quarter ended March 31, the company reported a loss of C$12 million ($10.18 million), or 19 Canadian cents per share, compared with a loss of C$22.2 million, or 35 Canadian cents per share, a year-ago.
Revenue fell 50 percent to C$0.2 million.
Analysts on average were expecting the company to post a loss of 20 Canadian cents, before items, on revenue of C$0.3 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Cardiome shares closed at C$4.91 Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
($1=1.179 Canadian Dollar)
(Reporting by R. Manikandan in Bangalore; Editing by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri) Keywords: CARDIOME/ (raman.manikandan@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: raman.manikandan.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.