Raptor raises 2014 revenue forecast

[caption id="attachment_95043" align="alignright" width="333"] Julie Anne Smith[/caption]

NOVATO -- Raptor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RPTP) on Thursday reported that, due to improved second-quarter performance, it would increase its expected net product sales figure for 2014 to between $65 million and $70 million, up from $55 million to $65 million.

Second-quarter sales were $16.3 million, with operating expenses at $24.4 million for the quarter, an operating loss of $9.1 million.

As of Aug. 21, Raptor had market capitalization of $714 million, and traded at about $11 a share, in the middle of its 52-week range of $7 to almost $18 a share.

Julie Anne Smith will become Raptor's CEO effective January 2015. She will earn about $550,000 when she assumes office.

Raptor, a global biopharmaceutical company based in Novato, develops rare disease drugs, such as Procysbi, a treatment for nephropathic cystinosis, a genetic malady that can wreck the patient's kidneys and be fatal. The drug costs nearly $250,000 a year.

Raptor also is researching drugs for Huntington's disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis,  Leigh syndrome and other mitochondrial diseases. Mitochondria, found in all human cells except red blood cells, convert energy from food into ATP, the energy that runs cells.

In a July 2014 press release, Raptor revealed new funding of $70 million from HealthCare Royalty Partners in a private placement. HealthCare, based in Stamford Conn., manages nearly $3 billion in health care investment capital for investors worldwide, mostly public and corporate pension funds.

Ms. Smith earned a degree in biology from Cornell University, and has specialized expertise in marketing, pricing and expanding revenue for biotech companies. Ms. Smith worked as chief operational officer at Raptor from 2012 to the present.

Ms. Smith will take the Raptor reins from Christopher Starr, Ph.D., co-founder. The company started in 2005. Mr. Starr was also the co-founder of BioMarin Pharmaceutical, where he led a team that developed enzyme replacement products.

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