Apricus Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on urology and rheumatology, on Monday reported a wider Q4 loss on a large in-licensing charge, but shares edged higher in the pre-market session as its loss excluding that charge was narrower than two analysts had expected. Shares of APRI were up 1.5% recently at $2.10, within a 52-week range of $0.92 to $2.75.
The company reported a Q4 net loss of $17.3 million, or $0.40 per share, compared with a net loss of $1.3 million, or $0.04 per share for Q4 2013. The company noted the widening in the quarterly net loss was primarily due to the in-licensing of fispemifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator.
Excluding a $13.6 million charge related to the in-licensing, the company’s loss for the latest quarter was $0.09 per share. Two analysts polled by Capital IQ had predicted a loss of $0.12 for the quarter, on average.
Total revenue surged to $1.9 million from $362,000 in Q4 2013, topping one analyst’s prediction of $850,000.
In 2015, APRI expects to generate cash from milestone payments and royalty revenue from partner sales of Vitaros, its product for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. The company also said it will continue to pursue out-license opportunities for Vitaros in Asia Pacific and Latin America.
APRI plans to advance the pipeline with clinical trial progress of RayVa and fispemifene in 2015. The company expects to complete the enrollment of the RayVa Phase 2a clinical trial in Raynaud’s phenomenon in Q2 2015 with the goal of establishing proof-of-concept and the optimal dose required to advance the program into to late-stage clinical trials. APRI plans to begin a Phase 2b clinical trial for fispemifene in Q2 2015, with results expected in Q12016. The company believes its current cash will support its operating plan through 2015.