Zogenix shares edge higher on 4Q sales report
Zogenix trades higher after company posts strong 4th-quarter sales of migraine treatment
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Zogenix Inc. rose Monday after the company reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter sales of its injectable migraine treatment Sumavel DosePro.
THE SPARK: Zogenix said its product sales rose to $13.5 million in the final period of 2012. It shipped about 145,200 units of Sumavel DosePro, which represented an increase of 9 percent from the third quarter and 26 percent more than the fourth quarter of 2011.
Analysts expected the company to report $44.8 million in revenue for the year, according to FactSet.
In the fourth quarter of 2011 the company reported $10.4 million in gross product sales and $7.9 million in total revenue.
Zogenix said its total revenue for 2012 will be around $36 million. That's about $1 million less than the company expected, as Zogenix said the effects of Superstorm Sandy reduced its sales.
THE BIG PICTURE: Sumavel DosePro is delivered through a needle-free system, and it is the company's only approved product. Zogenix, based in San Diego, markets the drug through a partnership with a unit of Covidien PLC.
Zogenix has been trying to win marketing approval for an extended-release pain drug called Zohydro. The drug is designed to treat moderate to severe chronic pain, lasts longer than other severe pain drugs, and unlike many similar products, does not acetaminophen. That means patients would not be at risk for possible liver side effects.
However in December a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel said Zohydro should not be approved, citing concerns the drug would be abused. The FDA is scheduled to make a decision on the drug by March 1.
SHARE ACTION: Zogenix shares added 5 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $1.54 in afternoon trading. The stock has lost about 37 percent of its value since the panel's decision on Dec. 7.
