BOULDER — Pharmaceutical company Clovis Oncology Inc. (Nasdaq: CLVS) saw its revenues shrink by 10% year over year in the first quarter of 2021, resulting in a sell off of company stock in early trading Wednesday. 

The company posted revenues of $34.2 million in the most recent quarter and a net loss of $60.2 million, or 44 cents per share, which missed Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 43 cents per share.

The miss sent Clovis’ stock tumbling by about 25% as of 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Clovis’ bottom line slightly improved over the first quarter of 2021 when the company lost $66.3 million, or 64 cents per share.
The company attributed slipping revenue to COVID-19’s impact on ovarian cancer diagnoses and treatments, which is what the company’s flagship drug Rubraca treats. With doctors and patients overwhelmed with COVID-19, other diagnoses and treatments fell by the wayside. 

Rubraca is primarily prescribed to ovarian-cancer patients and survivors to lower the chance of relapse, but is thought to help control solid-tumor forms of cancer linked to a specific mutation in a person’s genetics.

During the first quarter of 2022, Clovis raised $28.6 million in net proceeds through its “at-the-market” equity offering program. 

At the time of that raise, the company said that it’s focus is on three strategies: “Expand the Rubraca label to drive revenue growth, emerge as a leader in targeted radionuclide therapy, and achieve long-term financial stability.”

According to its quarterly report, “Clovis remains focused on its liquidity position and is committed to raising additional capital in the near term in order to fund its operating plan for the next 12 months and beyond.”