Taro Pharmaceutical Industries (Nasdaq: TARO), has cheered investors by announcing it received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the marketing of its “Mometasone” lotion through its US subsidiary. The FDA gave preliminary approval for marketing back in December 2004.
The news came one week after Taro announced it would publish its financial reports for the fourth quarter and 2005 as a whole at the end of March or beginning of April. Investors were unimpressed with the delay in results, especially given that no specific publication date had been set, and Taro stock fell 6% as result.
Mometasone lotion is a prescription topical corticosteroid product used primarily for the relief of inflammatory skin conditions. The Taro product is bioequivalent to Schering-Plough's Elocon lotion. The company expects sales in the US to total $9.6 million. Taro had received tentative approval of its Abbreviated New Drug Application ("ANDA") for this product in December 2004. Taro USA also has ANDA approvals for Mometasone Furoate Ointment USP, 0.1% and Mometasone Furoate Cream USP, 0.1%
Taro has also been developing ethical products of its own, alongside the manufacture and development of generic drugs. The company’s product launch rate, however, is too slow. It focuses on skin treatments and medications for children and has also attempted to develop products for neurological use. Taro has a market cap of $420 million.
Analysts expect Taro’s fourth quarter revenues to reach $74 million with earnings per share of $0.11. The company is expected to post $302 million revenue for 2005 with earnings per share of $0.56. Taro missed analysts’ forecasts when it published its third quarter results, posting a net profit of $2.1 million on $72.5 million revenue. This was a quarter of the figure set by analysts, who expected net profit to total $8.2 million. The third quarter results were also published late, after several postponements.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on March 16, 2006
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