Despite a sluggish start to the first quarter, officials at Acorda Therapeutics Inc. in Ardsley said the biotechnology company is still on track to record net sales of $285 million to $315 million this year for its drug Ampyra. The drug is prescribed to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Dr. Ron Cohen, founding president and CEO of Acorda, told investors that the company now has in its pipeline five compounds in clinical stage development or being prepared for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The company reported a net loss of $1.1 million, or 3 cents per share, in the first quarter, compared with first-quarter net income of $7.8 million in 2012.
Acorda netted revenue of $62.3 million from first quarter sales of Ampyra, compared with $57.4 million for the same quarter in 2012.
Ampyra sales through March 31 this year were down from the fourth quarter last year, a dip that Cohen attributed to recurring seasonal factors. They included patients switching insurance plans at the start of the year, causing delays in prescription refills; fourth-quarter inventory stocking by the specialty pharmacies to which Acorda ships its product, and increased discounts and allowances for Medicare patients entering the so-called “donut hole” of prescription drug coverage at the start of 2013.
Ampyra sales rebounded strongly in March and continued to rise in April, Cohen noted.
Net revenue from the company”™s Zanaflex capsules and tablets ”“ used to treat spasticity in MS and other neurological patients ”“ dropped by more than half to $4.4 million in the first quarter, down from $9.8 million in the first quarter last year. The launch of a generic version of the drug in January 2012 has sent sales of Acorda”™s brand plummeting.
Cohen said the company plans to proceed with a clinical development program for Ampyra”™s use to improve walking in post-stroke patients. The decision was based on recently announced data from a proof-of-concept trial that showed walking improved in patients with post-stroke deficits who took the drug in extended-release tablets.
The company also has in its pipeline a promising monoclonal antibody, rHlgM22, for treating MS. Acorda in April enrolled the first participant in a Phase 1 study of the drug.
The company in March released data from its first clinical trial of a drug used to treat patients with heart failure.
Acorda officials said the company closed the first quarter in a strong financial position with cash, cash equivalents and short-term and long-term investments of $324.9 million.
