Orexigen 3rd-quarter loss narrows on lower costs

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Development-stage biotechnology company Orexigen Therapeutics Inc. said late Wednesday its third-quarter loss narrowed on lower costs following the end of late-stage development for the obesity drug candidate Contrave.

The company lost $14.4 million, or 33 cents per share, compared with a loss of $24.8 million, or 72 cents per share, during the same period a year prior. Revenue from license payments remained flat at $22,000.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 36 cents per share on revenue of about $10,000.

Operating expenses fell 44 percent to $14.2 million, mainly on lower research and development costs as the company completed late-stage studies on Contrave.

Orexigen plans to ask for Food and Drug Administration approval for Contrave in the first half of 2010. The filing timeline will make it a likely competitor against several other potential weight-loss drugs. On Wednesday, Vivus Inc. said it expects to ask for FDA approval of its drug candidate Qnexa by the end of 2009.

Meanwhile, Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s lorcaserin would add a third potential competitor to a likely multibillion dollar market.

Shares of Orexigen added 29 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $6.95 inmorning trading Thursday.