Sucampo Profit More Than Doubles, Shares Fall

From the Associated Press Sucampo Pharmaceuticals said its second-quarter profit more than doubled due to a large milestone payment from Takeda Pharmaceuticals of Japan, but the drug developer's shares dropped in Thursday trading. The Bethesda company's profit climbed to $29.9 million (71 cents per share) from $13.8 million (39 cents) in the comparable period a year earlier. Revenue rose 38 percent, to $67.7 million, mostly from a $50 million regulatory milestone payment from Takeda after the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug Amitiza for a new use, treating irritable bowel syndrome with constipation in adult women. Sucampo's per-share profit increased by a smaller amount than its total net income because the company's share count increased to about 42 million from 35.5 million a year ago. Shares were down 88... [read full story]