Sales Advance at Noven

Noven Pharmaceuticals(NOVN Quote), a developer of prescription-drug patches, recorded strong first-quarter revenue growth and said earnings exceeded analysts' estimates.

For the three months ended March 31, net income rose to $5 million from $500,000 last year. Diluted earnings per share climbed to 20 cents from 2 cents in the year-ago period and beat the Thomson Financial consensus target of 18 cents.

Net revenue for the most recent quarter increased 90% to $19.3 million, primarily because of $4.4 million in Daytrana product sales to Shire (SHPGY Quote) and $3 million in license revenue from the same patch, a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Shire markets the product. ...