Inspire Pharmaceuticals reported a bigger net loss during the first quarter, mostly because of expenses related to a restructuring and layoffs.
The Raleigh-based company agreed last month to be bought by Merck for about $430 million. Inspire sells drugs to treat eye ailments, but stumbled when an experimental treatment for cystic fibrosis failed in a clinical trial.
After that misstep, Inspire announced in February that it would cut 65 jobs, or about a quarter of its workforce.
For the first three months of this year, Inspire had a net loss of $17.6 million, compared with a loss of $14.8 million a year earlier.
Revenue fell slightly to $21.1 million, the company reported this morning.
Merck agreed in early April to pay $5 per share for Inspire to expand its portfolio of eye drugs.
Inspire shares closed Monday at $4.99, suggesting that Wall Street expects the takeover won't run into any problems.
The deal, "when completed, represents the best prospect for enhancing stockholder value and realizing the potential of our ophthalmology products and product candidates," Inspire CEO Adrian Adams said in a prepared statement.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or