Drug developer Kamada Ltd. (TASE: KMDA) reported a weak first quarter of 2013, due to delays in the new production process for its flagship product, Glassia, for the treatment of congenital emphysema, resulting in a 36% drop in revenue compared with the corresponding quarter of 2012.
Kamada's revenue fell to $12.6 million for the first quarter from $19.6 million for the corresponding quarter, and its net loss quadrupled to $2 million from $472,000.
Kamada is planning an offering on Nasdaq by the end of May, and the current financial report will be the last before the offering. The company's market cap, currently NIS 1.2 billion, could affect the price it can obtain in the offering.
In a guidance in April, Kamada said that it expects $74 million revenue in 2013, up from $73 million in 2012. It added that it expects further growth in its industrial segment sales (including growth in Glassia sales) and that the proportion of revenue from this segment will increase at the expense of revenue from the distribution segment (imports).
Kamada's new production process will boost the company's capacity and improve its profit. The company hopes to obtain certification for the process by the end of June. The company already produces Glassia with the new process, but it cannot release the product to its distributor, Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX), or recognize the income, until it obtains certification.
"Whether or not we obtain certification on time, we are ready to continue production, sell, and meet our sales guidance," said Kamada CEO David Tsur.
Kamada has not provided a profit guidance for 2013, but the financial report implies that it expects lower R&D costs, an improved products mix in favor of Glassia and other products with high profit margins, and further growth in its gross profit. It seems that, taken together, these factors, could boost the company back to a small profit in the second half of 2013, after it posted a net profit for the fourth quarter of 2012.
Kamada reiterated its expectation that it will complete the Phase II/III clinical trial in Europe of its inhalable AAT drug for the treatment of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency by the end of 2013, and that it will begin a Phase II clinical trial of this product in the US. The company believes that the US trial will enable it to register the product there, in part on the basis of the results of the European trial. The company is also preparing for a Phase II or Phase II/III clinical trial this year of intravenous AAT for the treatment of type 1 diabetes in patients diagnosed with the disease for the first time.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 6, 2013
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