Salix Pharmaceuticals reported late Thursday that revenue increased 28 percent in the fourth quarter and was up 36 percent for the full year.

The Raleigh company had revenue of $198.2 million for the quarter, which equaled the consensus among Wall Street analysts who cover the company.

Excluding the loss of extinguished debt and non-cash adjustments, net income for the quarter was $51 million, or 81 cents per share. That beat the 78 cents that Wall Street analysts forecast.

Salix, which sells drugs to treat gastrointestinal ailments, had revenue of $735.4 million last year. The company forecasts revenue of $920 million in 2013, a 25 percent increase.

Salix Pharmaceuticals has received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York requesting documents related to the Raleigh company's sales and promotional practices for three of its drugs.

The company received the subpoena on Feb. 1, according to a regulatory filing Salix filed Tuesday.

The drugs involved include Salix's best selling drug, Xifaxan, as well as Relistor and Apriso.

Salix said in its filing that it is in the process of responding to the subpoena and intends to cooperate fully with the investigation.

"The company cannot predict or determine the impact of this inquiry on our financial condition or results of operations," the company said in its filing.

Michael Freeman, a Salix spokesman, said Wednesday that the company would have no comment beyond what was in its regulatory filing.

Analysts with RBC Capital Markets have rated Salix Pharmaceuticals outperform in their first research note on the Raleigh company.

RBC initiated coverage with a target price of $53 for Salix shares. The stock is currently trading around $46 per share.

"While the company experienced some pipeline setbacks over the past two years, we believe these are already well reflected in the stock price," the analysts wrote.

Salix sells drugs to treat gastrointestinal ailments. Much of the RBC analysts optimism about the stock relates to their belief that revenue from Xifaxan, Salix's best selling drug, will grow significantly in the future.

Salix Pharmaceuticals reported late Wednesday that revenue increased 27 percent in the third quarter.

The Raleigh company had revenue of $185.1 million for the quarter, which was below Wall Street estimates of $187.6 million.

Excluding the loss of extinguished debt and non-cash adjustments, net income for the quarter was $59.7 million, or 95 cents per share. That handily beat the 70 cents that was the consensus among Wall Street analysts who cover the company.

Salix sells drugs to treat gastrointestinal ailments.

Salix Pharmaceuticals reported late Wednesday second-quarter earnings that handily beat Wall Street estimates.

The Raleigh company had revenue of $181 million for the quarter, up 36 percent from the same period in 2011. Excluding the loss of extinguished debt and non-cash adjustments, net income for the quarter was $50.9 million, or 79 cents per share.

That easily beat the 54 cents that was the consensus among Wall Street analysts who cover the company.

Revenue from Salix’s best-selling drug Xifaxan, which is approved to treat travelers’ diarrhea and a rare liver condition, increased 34 percent in the quarter to $116.7 million. Salix now forecasts total revenue for 2012 to be $735 million, which would be a 36 percent increase over 2011.

Salix sells drugs to treat gastrointestinal ailments. The company’s stock dropped 13 percent in a single day late last month after Salix announced that federal regulators have requested additional clinical data for its application for Relistor, a drug that treats constipation in patients taking pain medicines.

Irina Rivkind, an analyst with Cantor Fitzgerald, upgraded Salix’s stock to a buy rating after the company’s earnings release on Wednesday. In raising her price target for the stock to $60 she said the stock fell more than expected after the Relistor announcement.

Salix shares closed up 75 cents at $45.74 on Thursday. The stock is down 4 percent this year.

Salix Pharmaceuticals reported late Monday that revenues increased 62 percent in the first quarter.

The Raleigh company had revenue of $171.1 million for the quarter, up from $105.9 percent in the first quarter of 2011. That beat the $168 million that was the consensus among Wall Street analysts who cover the company. Net income for the quarter was $10 million, or 15 cents per share.

Salix sells drugs to treat gastrointestinal ailments. Revenues from its best-selling drug, Xifaxan, which is approved to treat travelers' diarrhea and a rare liver condition, increased 40 percent in the first quarter to $112.9 million.

The company said in a statement that it plans to increase the size of its sales force from 160 to 195 over the next several months. The sales force focuses on building up relationships with gastroenterologists, colorectal surgeons and hepatologists. 

“Our core business is strong and growing,” CEO Carolyn Logan said. “In the near term we believe we can generate $1 billion in revenue in 2013.”

That belief, she said, is based on Salix winning regulatory approval in July to expand the allowed uses for Relistor, a drug that treats constipation in patients taking pain medicines.

It doesn’t include potential revenues from Salix winning approval to market Xifaxan for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. At the FDA's request, Salix has begun a trial to test how patients would respond to repeated use of the treatment.

Salix shares closed Monday up $1.11 at $49.60. The stock is up 4 percent this year.

Salix Pharmaceuticals reported fourth quarter earnings late today that beat Wall Street estimates thanks to robust sales of its best-selling drug Xifaxan.

The Raleigh company reported revenue of $155.2 million for the quarter, up 31 percent from the same period in 2010. Net income, excluding certain charges, for the quarter was $76 million, or $1.18 per share.

That beat the 93 cents per share that was the consensus among Wall Street analysts who cover the company.

For the year, Salix reported revenue of $540.5 million, up 60 percent from 2010.

Salix sells drugs to treat gastrointestinal ailments. Xifaxan is approved to treat travelers' diarrhea and hepatic encephalopathy, a rare liver condition.

Xifaxan revenue for the quarter was $107.2 million, up 29 percent from the same period in 2010. Xifaxan revenue for the year was $371.7 million, up 48 percent.

In a statement, Salix's chief financial officer, Adam Derbyshire, said the company expects revenues in 2012 to increase 36 percent to about $735 million.

Salix shares closed today up 3 cents at $46.14. The stock is up 38 percent over the past year.

Salix Pharmaceuticals announced today that a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel supports the proposed design of a clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the company's drug Xifaxan in treating irritable bowel syndrome.

Salix expects to begin patient enrollment for the trial in the first quarter of next year. The company estimates it could take 24 months to complete the trial and file a resubmission with the FDA.

Trading in Salix shares was halted today in advance of the FDA ruling.
 

The Food and Drug Administration has raised several unexpected concerns in its review of Salix Pharmaceuticals application to get its best-selling drug Xifaxan approved for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.

Salix officials are meeting today with an advisory committee of experts that has reviewed the data the company included in its application.

The FDA identified a number of issues that had not previously been mentioned by Salix officials, said Jefferies & Company analyst Corey Davis in a research note released today.

Among the surprises were questioning whether Salix used the proper dose and proper patient population in its testing.

"We think the market is going to find these surprising given the magnitude of the agency's skepticism," Davis wrote.
 

Salix Pharmaceuticals reported second quarter earnings late today that beat Wall Street estimates, and the company also said it would continue its efforts to get its best-selling drug Xifaxan approved for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.

Revenue for the three-month period ended June 30 was $133.2 million, up 42 percent from the same period a year ago. That was slightly above the consensus of $130 million Wall Street analysts estimated.

The Raleigh company reported net income of $33.8 million, or 54 cents per share, excluding one-time charges.

Salix, which sells drugs to treat gastrointestinal ailments, is one of a handful of drug-development companies in the Triangle with medicines approved for patients' use.

Xifaxan is approved to treat travelers' diarrhea and hepatic encephalopathy, a rare liver condition.

Xifaxan revenue for the second quarter was $87 million, up 20 percent from the same period a year ago.