Amylin 2Q Loss Narrows On Cost-Cutting; Byetta Sales Slip

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s (AMLN) second-quarter loss narrowed as the company's cost-cutting efforts were able to offset a drop in revenue.

Amylin, which sells diabetes treatment Byetta with Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY), has been reducing costs as it combines some Byetta operations, like sales, with Eli Lilly. Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it would review Amylin's application for a potential blockbuster, once-a-week version of Byetta, which it is developing with Eli Lilly and Alkermes Inc. (ALKS).

Tuesday, Amylin posted a loss of $62.4 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with a loss of $66.6 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier. The company's operating loss, excluding items such as $11.4 million in restructuring charges, narrowed to $22.4 million from $40.3 million.

Revenue decreased 5.7% to $209.4 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 35 cents a share on $205 million in revenue.

Net product sales slipped 1.4% while sales of Byetta also dropped 1.4%.

Amylin announced in May it was cutting its sales force by 35%, resulting in annual savings of about $45 million in 2010, with about half that amount achieved this year, which resulted in the charge.

But Chief Financial Officer Mark Foletta said the efforts to cut back costs helped improve its operating loss and have it on progress to be "cash-flow positive" by the end of 2010.

Amylin was embroiled in a board election saga recently as activist investor Carl Icahn and another shareholder succeeded in replacing two directors with their own candidates. But with 12 on the board, the proxy victory is unlikely to force a sale to Eli Lilly, something Ichan sought.

Amylin shares recently fell 3.3% to $12.90 after closing Tuesday at $13.34. Amylin's stock price has more than doubled in value since a seven-year low late last year.

-By Joan E. Solsman and David Benoit, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2458; [e-mail]