Kala Pharmaceuticals posts Q4 earnings miss

Shares in Kala Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:KALA) tumbled -14% yesterday after the biopharma company missed expectations on Wall Street with its fourth-quarter and full-year results.

The Waltham, Mass.-based company posted a net loss of -$11.3 million, or -46¢ per share, for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, for bottom-line loss of -34.5% compared with the same period last year.

Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were -46¢, missing the -37¢ consensus put forth by analysts on The Street.

Kala Pharmaceuticals posted a net loss of -$42.2 million, or -$6.11 per share, for the full year. The company’s losses grew 27.1% compared to 2016.

The company landed a $104 million initial public offering in 2017 and last month revealed data from late-stage trials of its investigational drug designed to treat patients with dry eye disease.

“This last year included significant accomplishments for Kala, marked by a successful initial public offering, and the acceptance of a New Drug Application for Inveltys (KPI-121 1%) for the treatment of inflammation and pain following ocular surgery with a PDUFA target action date of August 24, 2018,” chairman & CEO Mark Iwicki said in prepared remarks.

“Additionally, in January 2018, we reported topline results from two Phase 3 clinical trials of KPI-121 0.25%, Stride 1 and Stride 2, in patients with dry eye disease. Since January, we have been conducting additional analyses of the data from these two Phase III trials and the Phase II study. These analyses are being done to better understand the results and to prepare for discussions with the Food and Drug Administration. We expect to meet with the FDA to develop our path forward and will provide further updates following that meeting,” he added.

KALA shares closed yesterday at $14.73 apiece, down -13.8%.

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