Irish drug group Alkermes has reported a 15 per cent rise in revenues for the fourth quarter.

Sales jumped to $315.8 million in the fourth quarter. This compared to $275.4 million the previous year. The company’s loss per share remained broadly in line with the year-ago period.

For the year as a whole, the company reported a 21 per cent rise in sales to $1.09 billion and reduced losses.

Chief executive Richard Pops said 2019 would be an important year for Alkermes' late-stage pipeline.

Regulatory review

This, he was, was “highlighted by the planned submission of the [schizophrenia drug] ALKS 3831 new drug application” and the regulatory review of the recently submitted application for a new multiple sclerosis therapy.

Alkermes suffered a setback last November when an advisory panel to the US Food and Drug Administration voted against approving a treatment for depression. The FDA confirmed that decision earlier this month, arguing that it needed more clinical data to provide “substantial evidence” for the drug’s efficacy.