Acura posts 4Q income gain, but year still ends with loss

PALATINE - A positive return in income for the fourth quarter of 2016 was not enough to turn the tide for specialty drugmaker Acura Pharmaceuticals, which reported a net loss $7.4 million for the year.

The company reported net income of $1.5 million, or 13 cents per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to net loss of $900,000, or 8 cents per diluted share for the same period in 2015. For 2016, the company reported a net loss of $7.4 million, or 62 cents per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $5 million, or 46 cents per diluted share, for 2015.

The maker of technology that prevents medications from being converted into illegal substances recorded $3.5 million in license fee revenue from the October 2016 license agreement with KemPharm Inc. In 2015, the company recorded $5 million and $2.5 million in license fee revenue and milestone revenue, respectively, from agreements with Egalet Corp, Agreements with Bayer Healthcare netted revenue of $400,000 and $200,000 for 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Research and development expenses associated with product candidates utilizing the company's technologies were $4 million in for 2016, compared to $2.6 million in the same period in 2015. Those expenses were $800,000 in the fourth quarter 2016, compared to $700,000 million for the same period in 2015.