CV Therapeutics Posts Wider 3rd-Quarter Loss As Doctors Balk at Prescribing Ranexa
NEW YORK (AP) -- CV Therapeutics Inc., which develops drugs to treat heart disease, posted a wider third-quarter loss late Tuesday as doctors hesitated prescribing the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company's only approved drug to new patients.
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CV Therapeutics posted a loss of $1.23 per share, but still topped analysts' forecasts for a loss of $1.44 per share. The company sold $8.2 million worth of its angina treatment Ranexa, but sold only $3.2 million worth of the drug during the quarter. The remaining $5 million was deferred revenue from the first quarter, when the drug was launched.
The company said 250 new doctors prescribed Ranexa per week during the quarter, which is theoretically good news because new patients are buying the drug. However, some analysts said the figures suggest these doctors are only prescribing the drug to one or two patients.
The modest usage of the drug "indicates that adoption is very slow as physicians are not re-prescribing the drug, or are not prescribing Ranexa in general," said Citigroup analyst Yaron Werber, who rates the stock "Hold."
"Ranexa continues to show a slow start, mainly due to the drug's high price, modest benefit and low awareness," he said.
Piper Jaffray analyst Thomas Wei said the trend could reflect a number of factors. Fewer patients than expected could be eligible for the drug, doctors may question the Ranexa's effectiveness or doctors may be awaiting results from the Merlin trial, Wei said. He rates CV Therapeutics stock "Market Perform."
Analysts agree the results of the Merlin trial, a 6,500-patient Ranexa study whose results will be presented at the American College of Cardiology in March, will be a watershed event for the company and determine how readily physicians prescribe the drug. |
