Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s second-quarter loss widened, as higher selling and collaboration expenses weighed on the drug developer, but the performance topped Wall Street expectations and shares rose on Tuesday trading.
The Cambridge, Mass., company said it lost $65.1 million, or 57 cents per share, in the three months that ended June 30. That compared with a loss of $40.8 million, or 38 cents per share, in last year’s quarter.
A 6-percent jump in the number of outstanding shares narrowed the loss on a per-share basis by 4 cents in the recent quarter.
Revenue slipped 34 percent to $9.7 million, from $14.6 million a year ago.
Analysts expected, on average, a loss of 68 cents per share on $8.2 million in revenue, according to FactSet.
Ironwood shares jumped 9 percent, or $1, to $12.08 in Tuesday morning trading.
The company said its total cost and expenses climbed 25 percent in the quarter to $69.5 million. Ironwood and its partner, Forest Laboratories Inc., are selling the bowel drug Linzess, which reached the market in December, and that has played a role in its jump in marketing costs.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Linzess to treat both irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and a form of chronic constipation in adults. Ironwood is working with Forest to sell the drug in the United States and receives half of the profit or bears half of the loss from that agreement.
Ironwood booked a net loss of $19.4 million in the quarter for the drug, which racked up heavy commercial expenses.
