Labopharm Q1, First Half Revenue Increases

Labopharm’s revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 increased to $6.3m from $4.9m in the second quarter of fiscal 2008. Revenue for the first half of fiscal 2009 increased to $11.2m from $8.1m for the first half of fiscal 2008.

The company reported a net loss of $4.8m, or $0.09 per basic and diluted share, for the second quarter of 2009, compared to $10.2m, or $0.18 per basic and diluted share for the same period of 2008. For the six month ended period, the company reported a $12.8m or $0.23 per basic and diluted share, as compared to $19.9m, or $0.35 per basic and diluted share for the previous year.

James Howard-Tripp, president and chief executive officer, Labopharm, said: The second quarter of 2009 was highlighted by the US commercial launch of RYZOLT by our marketing partner, Purdue Pharma. We are encouraged by a number of aspects since the launch, including the growth of new prescriptions and the migration of patients to higher dosage strengths, which shows the product is being used as intended. However, the product was launched into a challenging market impacted by seasonality and a weakened US economy. We continue to believe that RYZOLT offers physicians and patients an excellent option in the treatment of pain and are confident in the long-term prospects for our product in the US market.

In Canada, our experience shows that with a strong marketing effort, our once-daily tramadol product performs well over time. In fact, in May and June of this year, our once-daily tramadol product was the best selling tramadol product in the country, he added.

We continue to prepare for commercialization of our novel trazodone formulation in the US. Following discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding its complete response letter and our API supplier’s submission of its action plan to address deficiencies at its manufacturing facility, we intend to file our response with the FDA next week,” he concluded.