SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (AP) — Drug developer Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday that it took a loss in the third quarter, compared with a year ago when it reported a profit after getting a large payment from partner AstraZeneca PLC.
Rigel said it lost $17.9 million, or 25 cents per share. A year ago it reported a profit of $50.4 million, or 96 cents per share.
The company reported $4.4 million in revenue, most of which came from a drug development collaboration with Merck Serono that was terminated in 2010. Last year AstraZeneca paid Rigel $72.3 million as part of a licensing deal on fostamatinib, a potential treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
Analysts expected Rigel to lose 30 cents per share on revenue of $100,000, according to FactSet.
Shares of Rigel Pharmaceuticals fell 44 cents, or 5.6 percent, to $7.41 in afternoon trading.