Icos stock surges on earnings forecast, Cialis filing
June 08, 2006

Shares of Icos shot up 7.3 percent today after the Bothell drug maker forecast earnings higher than Wall Street estimates and announced that its joint venture with drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. had filed a European marketing application for a once-a-day version of the impotence treatment Cialis.

Icos shares closed up $1.47 at $21.59 today on heavy volume of about 4.8 million shares.

Icos expects its net loss for 2006 to be at the low end of its 8 cents to 39 cents per-share range. Icos forecast earnings per share of 53 cents to 68 cents in 2007, and $1.23 to $1.45 in 2008. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast a loss of 5 cents per share in 2006, and earnings per share of 30 cents and 69 cents for 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Lilly Icos filed an application with the European Medicines Agency for a 2.5-milligram and a 5-milligram once-a-day dose of Cialis. The joint venture also plans to file applications in the United States and Canada before the end of the year. Launches of the drug are expected in 2007.

The company said the once-a-day versions would be priced lower than the current high-dose versions of the drug.

Lilly Icos launched Cialis in 5-milligram, 10-milligram, and 20-milligram doses in July 2004. These dosages work up to 36 hours.

Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003048841_webicos08.html?syndication=rss