SangStat reloads on its first profit

After adding $77.6 million to its coffers in a follow-on last week, SangStat Medical Corp. looks to have regained visibility after falling off the radar screen in 2000 when it dropped its SangCya oral solution from the U.S. after a protracted and highly publicized attempt to break the cyclosporine franchise of Novartis AG.

SANG, which began life in 1988 as a company focused on transplantation, subsequently refocused on breaking even by late 2001 and reaching profitability in 2002, and extending its therapeutic reach into autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. The company beat its timetable, reporting fourth quarter net income of $641,000 on revenues of $27.3 million. ...