Bethel Finance: Drug developer Kamada slashes net loss

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Bethel Finance news:

Drug developer Kamada Ltd. (TASE: KMDA) more than doubled its revenue for the third quarter of 2011, slashed its net loss by three-quarters, and published its first-ever guidance. Revenue rose 130% to NIS 47.2 million from NIS 20.5 million for the corresponding quarter of 2011, and net loss was narrowed to NIS 4.1 million from NIS 15.9 million.

In its full-year guidance, Kamada predicts NIS 200 million revenue in 2011, more than 50% higher compared with 2010 and 250% higher than in 2009.

Kamada had NIS 137 million in cash and short-term investments at the end of September.

Kamada said that it expects to complete recruitment of patients for its pivotal Phase II/III clinical trial of inhalable AAT, and complete the trial in 2013. The trial aims to validate the interim results, which found the safe and efficient. The company is developing inhalable AAT in parallel with sales of the intravenous version of the drugs, marketed as Glassia, for the treatment of congenital emphysema.

Kamada also reported that it aweded exclusive marketing license in US for its KamRab passive rabies vaccine to Italy's Kedrion SpA, which already markets the vaccine in Europe. Kamada will bear the cost of a Phase III trial of KamRab in the US in order to obtain US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for it. Kamada CEO David Tsur said, "We are pleased by the steady growth in sales of Glassia in the US on the basis our collaboration with Baxter, and by the ongoing cooperation to boost production, which should further increase sales of this product in the fourth quarter of 2011 and in 2012.

"The update in the interim report facilitates future use of the data for additional regulatory applications that Kamada is preparing. We are pleased that the interim report reiterated the high safety of our inhalable AAT product. We believe that this is further proof of the progress in the most advanced clinical trial of inhalable AAT in the world, and another step to becoming the first company in the world to offer inhalable AAT to patients."

Kamada's share price rose 3.1% by midday to NIS 21.10, giving a market cap of NIS 565 million.