Turnover up at EirGen Pharma but rising costs hit profits

Waterford-based pharmaceutical firm EirGen, which was acquired by US drugs firm Opko for $135 million (€112 million) almost three years ago, saw losses widen in 2016 as operating costs rose.

EirGen, which was founded in 2005 by Patsy Carney and Tom Brennan and employs more than 120 people, manufactures high-potency drugs for cancer chemotherapy.

Accounts recently filed at the Companies Registration Office show pretax losses rose to €2.75 million for the 12 months ending December 2016, compared with €739,184 a year earlier.

Turnover rose 23 per cent to €20 million from €16.2 million; however, the cost of sales jumped to €8.29 million from €4.3 million.

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Operating costs also increased, rising 37 per cent to €19.9 million compared with €14.5 million in the prior year.

The company employed 128 people at the end of the reporting period, up from 97 in 2015. Staff costs rose to €9.2 million from €7.2 million, which includes share-based compensation of €2.85 million.