Valeant posts loss on acquisition costs Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. posted a 43-per-cent rise in fourth-quarter revenue but booked a net loss due to acquisition-related costs. Canada's largest publicly traded drug company, Valeant said total revenue in the fourth quarter reached $986-million (U.S.), compared with $688-million in the year-earlier period. The global leader in dermatology products saw a net loss of $89-million or 29 cents per share in the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $55.85-million or 18 cents. Restructuring, acquisition-related and other costs in the quarter came to $261.8-million, up from $56.7-million. Montreal-based Valeant made more than a dozen acquisitions last year, including the $2.6-billion takeover of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. of Scottsdale, Ariz., a maker of skin-care products. On a cash-EPS basis, fourth-quarter adjusted income was $380-million or $1.22 per share, an increase of 30 per cent over the fourth quarter of 2011, the company said Thursday. Valeant was previously known as Biovail Corp., the pharmaceutical company once controlled by Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. California-based Valeant and Biovail merged in 2010 and the new entity shifted its focus to therapeutic and aesthetic products, notably oral acne medication Solodyn and anti-wrinkle injection Dysport. Among earlier deals, Valiant took over Edmonton-based Afexa Life Sciences Inc. in 2011 for about $88-million, acquiring the well-known flu treatment Cold-FX. Valeant also has products in the neurological and branded-generic drug categories.