Titan Pharmaceuticals posts wider-than-expected Q1 loss

Titan Pharmaceuticals (TTNP) reported a wider loss in the first quarter of 2019 due to lower revenues and higher operating expenses. The bottom line was wider than analysts’ expectations while the top line missed consensus estimates.

Net loss was $4.52 million or $0.34 per share, wider than the previous year quarter’s loss of $2.61 million or $0.74 per share.

Revenues fell by 11.2% to $945,000 from last year, which was primarily related to the up-front payment from the sale of Titan’s European intellectual property rights for Probuphine to Molteni.

For the first quarter, selling, general and administrative expenses increased by 91% due to the inclusion of about $1.7 million associated with sales and marketing and about $1.4 million of general administrative expenses. In contrast, research and development expenses declined by 0.6% year-over-year.

Costs of goods sold, which reflected product costs and other distribution expenses associated with sales of Probuphine, were about $0.3 million for the first quarter of 2019. Titan did not have the cost of goods sold for the three months ended March 31, 2018.

On May 13, the company executed a product purchase and supply agreement with Accredo specialty pharmacy, a subsidiary of Express Scripts, further expanding access to treatment with Probuphine implant, Titan’s novel maintenance treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) in eligible patients.

Also read: ESSA Pharma Q1 earnings report

During April, Titan and Molteni said that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency adopted a positive opinion recommending the granting of a marketing authorization for Sixmo, the brand name for Probuphine implant in the European Union. The European Commission is expected to issue its decision toward the end of June 2019.

Shares of Titan ended Wednesday’s regular session up 3.03% at $1.70 on the Nasdaq. Following the earnings release, the stock inched down over 5% in the after-market session.

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