SkyePharma announces interim results

SkyePharma has published its financial results for the first six months of the 2008 fiscal year.

The company reported a 44 per cent increase in year-on-year revenues to 28.4 million pounds, with operating loss before exceptional items falling by 75 per cent to 2.2 million pounds.

Net loss after tax fell from 19.6 million pounds during the first six months of 2007 to 6.8 million pounds this year.

In the first half of the year, SkyePharma reported “significant” progress with Flutiform (fluticasone and formoterol).

The product met its primary endpoints in its core clinical programme, which consisted of three phase III clinical efficacy studies and a long-term safety study.

It said it plans to submit a marketing authorisation application for all strengths of the drug with the European Medicines Agency in the third quarter of 2009, with the drug on track to be launched in Europe in 2010.

Jeremy Scudamore, non-executive chairman of SkyePharma, said: “In the last six months SkyePharma has made significant progress on several fronts.”

He added the company was pleased at the progress it has made with plans to renegotiate its convertible bonds, with an announcement to be made on this issue shortly.

Last month, SkyePharma announced the publication of positive results for two phase III European studies for Flutiform conducted by its partner Mundipharma.