Amylin Pharmaceuticals shares sank Monday as weak sales of its diabetes drug Byetta, which one analyst called "alarming," led to disappointing first-quarter results.
The San Diego-based company reported a larger-than-expected loss, and sales fell short of expectations by about $25 million. Sales of Byetta totaled $158.5 million, missing Wall Street estimates by about $20 million. Amylin said the miss was due in part to decreased buying by wholesalers.
The company also reduced the top end of its revenue forecast. It now expects between $900 million and $950 million in sales for the year, down from $900 million to $1 billion.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. stock skidded $3.23, or 10.3 percent, to $28.18.
Citi Investment Research analyst Yaron Werber said Byetta sales were alarming because the next version of Byetta _ called Exenatide long-acting release _ is about two years away from clinical approval. He said a rival drug, Novo Nordisk A/S's Liraglutide, could be approved early next year.
Werber wrote that that Amylin raised the price of the drug 6 percent in January.
Citing data from market researcher IMS Health, Thomas Weisel analyst M. Ian Somaiya said total prescriptions of Byetta fell 6.7 percent in the week ending April 11.
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