Furiex Pharmaceuticals, which saw its stock drop 23 pertcent in a single day last week after a drug it is developing with a partner failed to win U.S. regulatory approval, reported a narrower net loss in the first quarter.

The Morrisville company reported Thursday a loss of $9.8 million, or 98 cents per share, compared to $14.4 million, or $1.45 per share, in the first quarter of 2011.

Revenue from royalties totaled $2.6 million, compared to $400,000 in the first quarter of 2011.

The company's research and development expenditures declined from $12.9 million to $9.4 million. Furiex attributed the decline to completion of Phase 2 trials for its drug candidates, JNJ-Q2 and MuDelta.

MuDelta is being developed to treat irritable bowel syndrome. JNJ-Q2 has been studied as both a treatment for acute skin infections and for bacterial pneumonia.

Salix Pharmaceuticals announced Monday that federal regulators have extended the date by which they expect to complete a review of Crofelemer, a potential drug treatment for HIV-associated diarrhea.

The Raleigh company said the review date has been extended from June 5 to Sept. 5. The Federal Drug Administration did not request additional studies.

The FDA granted Crofelemer priority review status in February. Such reviews are granted to drugs that offer major advances in treatment or which provide treatment where no adequate therapy exists.

Crofelemer's 125 mg tablets would treat diarrhea in patients with HIV or AIDS who are on anti-retroviral therapy. Salix estimates that some 150,000 patients on the therapy experience chronic diarrhea, which can cause weight loss and complicate treatment.

A second Salix drug, Relistor, also had its FDA review date pushed back last week. Relistor treats constipation in patients taking pain medicines.