Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACHN): RA Capital Management Cuts Stake To 19.0% From 21.1%

RA Capital Management, led by Peter Kolchinsky, disclosed in a newly amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it further reduced its exposure to Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN). The filling showed that the hedge fund unloaded around 2.71 million shares of Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN). Following the sale, RA Capital owns 18.54 million shares of the company, the stake being equal to 19.0% of common stock outstanding.

Peter Kolchinsky

Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) is a pharmaceutical company focused on solutions for the most challenging problems in infectious disease including HCV, and has a market cap of $1.12 billion. Previously, RA Capital revealed owing 21.25 million shares, equivalent to 21.1% of stock. In June, RA Capital revealed selling 800,000 shares of the company.

For the second quarter of 2014, Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) reported a net loss of $15.7 million, or $0.16 per share, compared with a net loss of $19.9 million, or $0.21 per share, for the same quarter of 2013. For the three months ended June 30, 2014, the company recognized no revenues, similar to the 2013 quarter. The company reduced research and development expenses to $12.2 million from $16.6 million for the same period a year ago.

Recently, Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN) announced that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office granted the company U.S. Patent No. 8,809,313, covering composition-of-matter and method of use claims for ACH-3102 and structurally related NS5A inhibitor compounds, according to a press release.

In its latest 13F, QVT Financial, led by Daniel Gold, reported ownership of 7.39 million shares of Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACHN). Stephen Dubois’ Camber Capital Management reported holding 5.80 million shares of the company.

Boston-based RA Capital invests in companies with promising drugs and technologies. Peter Kolchinsky graduated from Harvard with a Ph.D. in virology in 2001. After graduation, he got $4 million from Vertex Pharma Co-Founder Rich Aldrich and started picking biotech stocks at RA Capital. In 2002, he broke even when the S&P 500 index lost 22%. By the end of 2003, the initial $4 million investment became $13 million. As of the end of the second quarter of 2014, the market value of the fund’s equity portfolio totaled around nearly $990.

Disclosure: none