ARIAD Posts Wider-Than-Expected Loss In Q4

Cambridge, MA based ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ARIA - Analyst Report) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of breakthrough treatments for cancer. ARIAD’s only approved product is Iclusig (ponatinib). Iclusig, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), is approved both in the U.S. and EU for the treatment of adults suffering from T315I-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (chronic, accelerated or blast phase) or Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia or for whom no other TKI therapy is approved.

ARIAD is also working on studying Iclusig in earlier lines of therapy. It initiated a second-line phase III study on Iclusig in Dec 2015. In this scenario, investor focus will remain on the performance of Iclusig. Investors will also be keen on the company’s progress with its pipeline.
 
Currently, ARIAD has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but that could definitely change following the company’s earnings report which was just released. We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:
 
Earnings: ARIAD posted a wider-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter of 2015. Our consensus called for a loss of 28 cents per share and the company reported a loss of 32 cents.
 
Revenues: Revenues too fell short of expectations. ARIAD posted revenues of $36.5 million, compared to our consensus estimate of $44 million.
 
Key Stats: Iclusig continued to perform well in the fourth quarter of 2015. Meanwhile, ARIAD is also evaluating Iclusig in the phase III OPTIC-2L study in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) who have experienced treatment failure following a imatinib therapy. A regulatory application for Iclusig has been submitted in Japan for the treatment of resistant or intolerant CML and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Moreover, the company expects to initiate a phase III study on brigatinib in the second quarter of 2016. The study will evaluate brigatinib, in comparison to Pfizer’s Xalkori, in patients with ALK+ non-small cell lung cancer, who have not received prior ALK inhibitors. A New Drug Application for brigatinib in the U.S. is expected to be filled in the third quarter of 2016.

2016 Guidance:In 2016, net product revenues from sales of Iclusig are expected in the range of $190 million to $200 million. Guidance includes sales of Iclusig in the U.S., EU and other selected countries where ARIAD has distributorships in place. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is currently $223 million.