Allergy Therapeutics swings to FY loss on R&D spend

Allergy Therapeutics posted a rise in revenue for the year to the end of June but said it swung to a loss as it ramped up its spending on research and development.

Revenue rose 12% from 2015 to £48.5m but the company reported a pre-tax loss of £12.1m versus a profit of £654,000 the year before as it spent £16.2m on R&D compared to £3.1m in 2015.

Allergy said the ramp-up in R&D investment was mainly in relation to the US Grass and European PQBirch dose studies undertaken in the year.

The group said the global allergy treatment market has seen some turmoil with recent events affecting the competitive market environment in Europe and the US, which are likely to lead to mid- to long-term benefits for Allergy Therapeutics in terms of potential market share in the US.

In addition, it said the UK’s vote to leave the European Union has had a short-term beneficial financial effect for the business as sterling weakened against the euro, but the mid and long-term impact will depend on the final agreement between the UK and the rest of the EU on such matters as trade and pharmaceutical regulation.

Chief executive officer Manuel Llobet said: “This year has seen many events in the allergy market. I would like to highlight Allergy Therapeutics' revenue growth, now accounting for 12% of the share in our competitive market, and progressing well towards our long-term strategic plans with developments across all areas of the business.

“Our excellent products and outstanding team have delivered success in product development and marketing and, despite the requirement for our additional range-finding study, we look forward to capitalising on opportunities to continue growing into new markets and delivering patient-friendly, market-leading treatments, to help patients across the allergy spectrum.”

At 1433 BST, the shares were down 5.4% to 17.38p.