Kythera Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced a higher-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter, which it attributed to the costs of late-stage clinical trials of its primary pipeline product, an injected drug to reduce chin fat. The Calabasas biotech, which went public in October, reported a net loss of $18 million (-$1.04 a share), compared with a net loss of $5.6 million (-44 cents) in the same period a year earlier. The company, which has no drugs on the market, reported no revenue. Three analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a loss of 76 cents a share. Research and development costs climbed to $14.4 million from $6.2 million. Losses from operations widened to $17.8 million from $5.5 million. The company reported that it had cash and cash equivalents of $79.3 million on Dec. 31 at the end of the fourth quarter, which it expects will be enough to fund the firm for the next 12 months. The company raised $81 million in its initial public offering largely to fund research and development of ATX-101, a treatment to reduce double chins. Kythera expects to report initial results of its Phase 3 trials in the next few months. For the year, the company reported a net loss of $36.8 million (-$2.62 a share) compared to a loss of $11.2 million (-$1.00) in 2011. “2012 was a transformational year for Kythera, during which we strengthened out capital position through the successful completion of our initial public offering,” said Chief Executive Keith Leonard in a statement. Kythera lost 13 cents, or less than 1 percent, to close at $23.88 on the Nasdaq.
