Vertex Pharmaceuticals loss widens

Cambridge-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. said yesterday its fourth-quarter loss widened as development costs increased and revenue dropped sharply.

Vertex posted a loss of $142.3 million, or 96 cents per share, in the quarter. That compares with a loss of $85.8 million, or 66 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue shrank 36 percent to $32.8 million from $51 million as both royalty revenue and collaborative revenue fell. Excluding stock-based compensation and other one-time items, Vertex reported a loss of $126.9 million, or 85 cents per share, compared with $72.8 million, or 56 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2007. Analysts expected a loss of 93 cents per share and $35.9 million in revenue, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

The company said its adjusted loss widened to $397.5 million, or $2.83 per share, in 2008, from $324.8 million, or $2.52 per share in 2007. Vertex expects similar losses in 2009.