PDL BioPharma Forecasts 3Q Revenue Below Estimates

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. (AP) — Drug developer PDL BioPharma Inc. said Tuesday it expects about $71 million in revenue in the third quarter, which was below Wall Street's expectations.

PDL said about half its sales were made overseas, where less favorable currency exchange rates have hurt revenue for many U.S. companies. Most of PDL's revenue comes from royalty payments on drugs it helped develop. Analysts expected PDL to report $77.5 million in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.

In morning trading, PDL stock declined 8 cents to $8.98.

The company reported $68.7 million in royalty payments in the third quarter of 2008. Results in the current quarter, which ends Sept. 30, include $1.6 million in payments on sales of the respiratory virus drug Synagis. That drug is marketed by MedImmune, a unit of AstraZeneca PLC.

PDL also gets payments on the cancer drugs Avastin and Herceptin and the macular degeneration drug Lucentis, which are sold by Roche's Genentech division. PDL is also paid royalties on sales of Elan Corp. PLC and Biogen Idec Inc.'s drug Tysabri, which treats multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease.

The company spun off its biotechnology assets into a separate publicly traded company called Facet Biotech Corp. last year.

PDL plans to make its third-quarter report on Oct. 27.