Development stage drug company Trimeris Inc. said Tuesday that its profit climbed in the fourth quarter after it received a breakup payment from Arigene Inc., which tried to buy Trimeris but could not find the needed financing.
Trimeris accepted an $81 million buyout offer from Arigene in October. Arigene paid the HIV drug maker $12 million when the deal did not go through. After expenses, Trimeris gained $8.7 million from the breakup.
The company's fourth-quarter profit grew to $7.2 million, or 32 cents per share, from $1.5 million, or 7 cents per share. Excluding the breakup fee and other special items, profit was 8 cents per share in the latest quarter.
Revenue fell to $3.2 million from $4.6 million, due to lower sales of the HIV drug Fuzeon, which is marketed by Roche AG.
Trimeris said royalty revenue slipped to $1.8 million from $2.7 million, and collaboration income declined to $1.3 million from $1.9 million.
During the quarter, worldwide sales of Fuzeon fell to $25.5 million from $40.5 million. U.S. sales were down almost 50 percent.
For the full year, Trimeris said its profit climbed 54 percent to $12.3 million, or 55 cents per share, from $8 million, or 36 cents per share. Revenue fell 23 percent to $15.2 million from $19.6 million.
Shares of Trimeris fell a penny to close at $2.47.