Oscient reports preliminary 2q revenues

Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corp. said today that it expects to report second-quarter revenue in the range of $15 million to $16 million.

In issuing preliminary results, the Waltham biopharmaceutical company said that range would compare with $4.6 million in revenues for its second quarter in 2006.

Last August, Oscient acquired the US rights to Antara, a cholesterol drug, which is expected to account for about $14 million in second-quarter 2007 revenues for Oscient, the company said.

Oscient also sells Factive, a treatment for certain types of bronchitis and pneumonia; Factive is expected to generate about $1.5 million in second-quarter 2007 revenues, the company said.

The AP reported that, on average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected Oscient's second-quarter revenue to be $17.4 million.

The company said it plans to report second-quarter financial results in early August.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)