Parexel International Corp. reported late Monday strong fourth-quarter earnings, but not all of the next day's news was positive for the biopharmaceutical company. The Waltham, Mass.-based company, which runs clinical trials for other biotech companies, reported a net profit of $8.43 million, or 31 cents a share, a vast improvement compared with the same quarter last year, when the company reported a net loss of $51.5 million, or $1.98 a share. Revenue rose to $214.3 million from $178.1 million, while service revenue climbed to $169.5 million from $143.7 million. However, as news of its strong revenue growth made it into the business pages, so did tales of a clinical trial gone horribly awry. Earlier this year, the company abandoned an early human trial on a possible treatment for autoimmune and inflammatory disorders on six men in the United Kingdom, after the men reportedly suffered organ failure and compromised immune systems. Now, at least one participant is claiming to suffer from lymphoma. TeGenero AG, the company that hired Parexel to test the drug candidate, has already filed for bankruptcy following the failed trial. In the meantime, it looks like four of the six men are preparing a law suit against Parexel, which could drag down its future quarterly reports. —Matthew Wurtzel
See story about earnings from AP via Yahoo
See story about the clinical trial from The Boston Globe
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