Achillion Q4 net loss increases to $8.69m

Achillion Pharmaceuticals, a developer of small molecule drugs, has reported a net loss of $8.69m, or $0.33 per share, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2008, compared to a net loss of $6.88m, or $0.44 per share, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2007.

For the year ended December 31, 2008, the company reported a net loss of $28.15m, or $1.42 per share, compared to a net loss of $28.1m, or $1.80 per share, in 2007.

The company reported negative revenues of $1.28m for the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to revenues of $393,000 for the same period of 2008. For the full year 2008, the company reported negative revenues of $234,000, compared to revenues of $4.04m for 2007.

Michael Kishbauch, president and CEO of Achillion, said: The coming year is a potential break-out period for Achillion, as we expect to advance both of our lead programs for treating hepatitis C into the clinic. With ACH-1095, also known as GS-9525 by our collaboration partner, Gilead Sciences, we believe we have the potential for a first-in-class NS4A antagonist that has been shown to work in combination with other therapies in development.

With ACH-1625, we believe we have the potential for a best-in-class hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor given the compound’s safety and pharmacokinetics. We believe that having both potential first-in-class and best-in-class therapies in HCV will provide us with a significant advantage, as HCV is a disease in which combination therapies are expected to become the standard of care.