AEterna drops to a fourth-quarter loss

TORONTO (Reuters) - AEterna Zentaris Inc (AEZ.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) slipped to a fourth-quarter loss on Wednesday due to higher research and development expenses and a lower income tax recovery rate.

The biopharmaceuticals company said it lost $13.6 million, or 26 cents a share in the period ended December 31, compared with a profit of $39.1 million, or 74 cents a share, during the same period a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter was $10.2 million, down 14.2 percent from $11.9 million in the same period in 2006.

Analysts were expecting a loss of 19 cents a share on revenue of $10.5 million.

The company, which specializes in endocrinology and oncology treatments, said research and development expenses were $13.6 million for the fourth quarter, almost double the $7.9 million for the same quarter in 2006 due to the Phase 3 development of cetrorelix, its treatment for enlarged prostrate glands.

(Reporting by Scott Anderson; Editing by Ka Yan Ng)