Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (TSE:AUP) (NASDAQ:AUPH) announced earnings results after the bell on Tuesday.
Shares of the company rose during trading on Tuesday, up 2.4% at C$8.55 in Toronto and up 2.4% at US$6.42.
The company reported a net loss of US$14.6 million or $0.17 per share in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2018, as compared with a net loss of US$3.3 million or US$0.04 per common share for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2017.
READ: Aurinia Pharmaceuticals reports positive Phase 2 results for dry-eye syndrome drug voclosporin against Allergan's flagship Restasis
Analyst were estimating a quarterly loss of $0.14 per share.
Revenue decreased to US$29 million from US$30 million in the prior-year quarter.
Headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia, Aurinia is currently developing voclosporin, an investigational drug, for the potential treatment of lupus nephritis (LN), focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), as well as dry eye syndrome.
In February, the US patent office extended the patent protection for voclosporin till 2037 in treating patients diagnosed with lupus nephritis sending Aurinia shares upwards.
In Q4, Aurinia had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of US$125.9 million of cash and short-term investments as of December 31, 2018.
Research and development expenses came in at US$10.8 million in Q4 2018, compared to $8.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Contact Katie Lewis at katie@proactiveinvestors.com