Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. said on Monday that it swung to a net loss in the first quarter.
Irvine-based Spectrum, which produces cancer drugs, said its net loss was $39 million, compared to a profit of $115,000 in 2009’s first quarter.
Wall Street expected Spectrum to lose $7.3 million in the quarter.
Spectrum said that its first-quarter research and development expenses shot up 540% to $36.5 million from $5.7 million in the year-ago quarter, primarily because of an upfront payment and development costs for Belinostat, an anti-cancer drug that it licensed from TopoTarget A/S, a Danish drug maker, in February.
First-quarter revenue came in at $11.1 million, above analysts’ expectations of $9.88 million.
Spectrum didn’t offer a 2010 forecast in its earnings release. Analysts expect it to lose $27 million on revenue of $45.4 million this year.
The lightly-traded shares of Spectrum closed flat on Monday on a market value of $228 million.
