May 12--King Pharmaceuticals officials are blaming an $11 million loss in the first quarter on increased competition for some of the company's most popular drugs and a one-time cost associated with its recent merger with Alpharma.

According to financial reports released Monday, the Bristol-based drugmaker posted a $10.7 million loss from Jan. 1 to March 31. The company reported an $85.5 million gain during last year's first quarter, the reports state.

King CEO Brian Markison said the difference between the quarters is mostly due to a drop in revenue from the company's branded pharmaceuticals, like its blood pressure medication Altace, which had its first generic substitute in December 2007.

The company reported $278 million in revenues from its branded pharmaceuticals division for this year's first quarter, while it reported $369 million in revenues from this division during the first quarter of 2008.

Markison said King will likely continue to see lower branded pharmaceuticals sales as generic substitutes for Altace and other drugs like the insomnia drug Sonata grow in popularity.

Markison said his company has several drugs moving through the regulatory pipeline that he hopes will help counter the losses. These drugs include the company's new oxycodone-based painkillers Remoxy and Acurox as well as its morphine-based painkiller Embeda. All three drugs are at various stages in the FDA's approval process.

He also said the company's recent acquisition of the New Jersey-based Alpharma Inc. should help its bottom line giving the company access to new drugs like Alpharma's Flector Patch, which treats pain caused by minor sprains.

But despite its future gains, company executives said the Alpharma merger cost them during the first quarter. The company reported a one-time merger-related expense of $48 million for the period, said Vice President for Investor Relations David Robinson. This money was used to pay for a restructuring plan that involved cuts to both King and Alpharma's total work force, including a layoff of 72 people at the company's Bristol headquarters, Robinson said.

gmclean@bristolnews.com| (276) 645-2518

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