Small-cap biopharmaceutical company Avanir Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AVNR) continued to showcase its progress to investors today by reporting greatly improved sales and a narrower loss with the release of its second-quarter results after the closing bell.
For the quarter, Avanir delivered net revenue of $26.9 million, comprised of net Nuedexta sales of $24.4 million -- Nuedexta is its FDA-approved treatment for psuedobulbar affect -- as well as Abreva royalties and co-promotion revenue. Comparatively, this was 55% higher than the $17.4 million in sales recorded during the year-ago period, and it marked the 12th consecutive sequential quarter of sales growth for Nuedexta.
Also worth noting, and highly touted in its earnings release, was the recent court decision which upheld the patent rights to Nuedexta from biosimilar competition for a period of 12 more years.
As you might imagine, higher Nuedexta sales have led to greater marketing and personnel costs. Operating expenses during the quarter rose nearly 18% to $38.7 million, led by an 18% increase in selling and marketing expenses and a 23% increase in general and administrative expenses.
With sales growth outpacing expense growth, Avanir was able to report a reduced net loss of just $12.7 million, or $0.08 per share, compared to a loss of $16.5 million, or $0.12 in the prior-year period. Despite using $25.5 million in cash during the quarter, it still ended with cash, cash equivalents, and investments totaling $56.5 million.
Looking ahead, Avanir did not issue any forward earnings or cash guidance in its release, but it did reiterate that the Food and Drug Administration has accepted the company's investigational migraine medication AVP-825 as a new drug application with a PDUFA date of Nov. 26, 2014.
