Onyx Pharmaceuticals (ONXX) reported third quarter earnings of 28 cents per share, well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 cents as well as 21 cents reported in the year-ago period. The company, along with Bayer AG (BAYRY.PK), developed Nexavar (sorafenib) tablets, an anticancer therapy currently approved and marketed for the treatment of liver cancer and advanced kidney cancer in the US, European Union, Japan and some other countries. Onyx’s earnings come in the form of royalty and collaboration income on Nexavar sales.  For the quarter, Onyx reported revenues of $69.1 million compared to $50.8 million for the same period in 2008 primarily due to an increase in Nexavar sales and royalty revenue and a decline in the drug’s commercial expenses. While revenues increased 36%, a 43.6% rise in operating expenses brought down Onyx’s operating margin by 450 basis points to 14.5%. R&D and SG&A expenses increased ...

Recently, Onyx Pharmaceuticals (ONXX) announced that it will purchase privately held cancer drugmaker Proteolix for an upfront cash payment of $276 million. This transaction gives Onyx access to Proteolix's lead compound, carfilzomib, a mid-stage multiple myeloma drug. Apart from the upfront cash payment, Onyx, which currently sells the liver and kidney cancer drug Nexavar along with Bayer AG, is also liable to pay $40 million in 2010 if carfilzomib achieves a development milestone and up to $535 million depending on the achievement of certain regulatory approvals for carfilzomib in the U.S. and Europe.  That is inclusive of a payment of $170 million if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decides to conduct a fast review of the drug. The all-cash transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. As a reminder, carfilzomib is currently undergoing a phase II b trial (n=250) in ...