Amylin Posts Bigger 3Q Loss As Byetta Sales Slip

SAN DIEGO -- Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported a bigger third-quarter loss Thursday as sales of diabetes drug Byetta continued to slump.

From Associated Press (November 5, 2010) SAN DIEGO -- Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported a bigger third-quarter loss Thursday as sales of diabetes drug Byetta continued to slump.

Amylin and Eli Lilly & Co. are partners on Byetta. Sales have been weak since 2008, when the drug was linked to cases of acute pancreatitis. The companies are trying to get marketing approval for a newer diabetes drug called Bydureon, which is designed to be injected once a week versus Byetta’s twice-daily injections.

But in October, the Food and Drug Administration said it was not ready to approve Bydureon. The agency asked for more data, which the companies hope to provide by the end of 2011. Once the new data is submitted, the companies expect the FDA to take six months to review it.

Amylin said it lost $50.7 million, or 35 cents per share, in the quarter, compared with a smaller loss of $26.7 million, or 19 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue slid 20 percent to $156.1 million