Sunesis Pharma posts smaller 4th-quarter loss
Sunesis Pharma 4th-quarter loss narrows on stock warrant gain as cancer drug studies continue
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP) -- Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Wednesday it took a smaller loss in the fourth quarter as it continued clinical testing of its cancer drug vosaroxin and other products.
Sunesis is studying vosaroxin as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive cancer of the blood. The company said it expects to report results from a late-stage clinical trial in the first half of 2014.
Sunesis also has drug development partnerships with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. of Japan and Biogen Idec Inc.
In the fourth quarter the company lost $4 million, or 8 cents per share, compared with $8.7 million, or 19 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter. It reported $2 million in revenue in the latest quarter and none in the 2011 quarter. The results in the most recent period included $4.9 million in other income, most of which came from a re-evaluation of stock warrants.
Analysts expected Sunesis to post a loss of 19 cents per share on $400,000 in revenue, according to FactSet.
Shares of Sunesis rose 37 cents, or 6.9 percent, to $5.76 in morning trading.
For the full year, the company lost $43.9 million, or 91 cents per share, after losing $20.1 million, or 43 cents per share, in 2011. Revenue decreased to $3.8 million from $5 million.
