Pozen Beats Street Estimates on Earnings

Updated February 27, 2008

Pozen Beats Street Estimates on Earnings

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Chapel Hill, N.C. —

Shares in drug development firm Pozen (Nasdaq: POZN) climbed better than 3.4 percent Tuesday after the firm beat Wall Street expectations on fourth-quarter earnings.

Thanks primarily to drug developments with AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, Pozen reported revenues of $6.2 million and a loss of $4.2 million or 14 cents a share. Investors had expected a 16-cent decline.

However, Pozen’s revenue fell shy of the $6.4 million analysts had expected.

Pozen stock traded at $12.95, up 43 cents or 3.43 percent in late morning trading. However, by the end of the day shares closed up 12 cents at $12.64.

Pending approval of a migraine drug it is developing along with GSK, Pozen did not forecast revenue. The firm also is working out “costs and timing” efforts in its drug development partnership with AstraZeneca.

"We are not in a position at this time to provide guidance for the 2008 year," the company said in a statement. "We believe we will be in a better position to provide guidance for the year when we report the financial results for the second quarter of 2008. At that time, we will have a more accurate estimate of the costs and timing of the marketing support studies, which we will conduct at the request of AstraZeneca, and have better insight into the status of FDA marketing approval for Treximet and subsequent launch, if approved."

For the year, Pozen reported a net income of $4.7 million, or 15 cents a share, including a $30 million payment from AstraZeneca.