ADRs in Focus: Flamel Technologies rises

U.S.-traded shares of French biotechnology company Flamel Technologies SA rose Wednesday after its smaller first-quarter loss and increased revenue topped analyst expectations.

Flamel shrank its loss by 59 percent from the year-ago quarter, posting a deficit of $3.7 million, or 15 cents per share for the three months ended March 31, down from $9.1 million, or 38 cents per share last year. Revenue rose 13 percent, to $10.9 million from $9.6 million a year ago.

The two analysts reporting estimates to Thomson Financial, on average, expected a loss of 30 cents per share on $9.3 million in revenue.

The company said its operating costs fell to $15.8 million from $19.1 million, as the cost of goods and services and research and development came down.

License and research revenue increased 13 percent to $3.5 million, and "other" revenue _ mostly from royalty payments from GlaxoSmithKline PLC _ more than doubled to $2.6 million from $1.1 million.

Flamel codeveloped Coreg CR, a beta blocker marketed by GlaxoSmithKline. Sales and services revenue from GlaxoSmithKline PLC fell to $4.7 million from $5.4 million.

The company also received $750,000 from a partnership with Merck Serono. The two companies are investigating a combination of a Merck protein and Flamel's Medusa extended-release technology.

In afternoon trading, American Depositary Receipts of Flamel gained 36 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $9.54. American Depositary Receipts, or ADRs, are securities that allow U.S. investors to trade shares of companies based overseas.

The Bank of New York Europe ADR index, which tracks European stocks traded on U.S. exchanges, edged up 0.79 points to 179.30.