November 2006

Lebopharm cuts loss

LAVAL — Drug manufacturer Labopharm Inc. reported a third-quarter loss of $4.4-million, down sharply from a year-ago $7.5-million, as revenue jumped to $3.3-million from $72,000 on its first sales of its formulation of the painkiller tramadol for the period.

The loss amounted to 8 cents per diluted share, compared with a year-earlier 18 cents per share.

Sales of its once-daily version of the drug were $1.1-million, representing sales to Hexal AG for distribution in Germany and to CSC Pharmaceuticals for distribution in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Labopharm said it continues discussions with U.S. Food and Drug Administration to resolve issues in a recent “approvable” letter and secure tramadol's approval there.

“We have had an initial meeting with the FDA regarding our approvable letter for once-daily tramadol and are making progress toward determining the appropriate path forward in pursuit of final regulatory approval,” president and CEO James Howard-Tripp said in a release.

“We understand that the lack of information with regard to this matter is frustrating to our shareholders, however, we firmly believe that providing detailed disclosure at this time would be counterproductive to the approval process.”

Laval-based Labopharm develops drugs incorporating its proprietary controlled-release technologies.

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