Achillion Q4 Loss Widens - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ACHN) Friday reported fourth-quarter net loss of $13.35 million, wider than $11.20 million in the prior year. On a per share basis, loss remained flat at $0.14.

On average, eight analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.16 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

There was no revenue for the recent quarter, compared to $118 thousand in the year-ago quarter.

Total operating expenses increased to $13.49 million from $11.37 million reported last year. Research and development expenses were $10.1 million, compared to $8.4 million a year earlier, mainly due to costs related to ACH-3422 preclinical studies, offset by decreased clinical trial expenses related to sovaprevir, the firm said.

The company also announced that Mary Kay Fenton has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Joseph Truitt has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.

For full-year 2014, the company expects net loss per share to be about $0.70. Analysts expect the company to report a loss of $0.81 per share for the year.

Research and development expenses are anticipated to be around $55 million to $60 million.