BioMarin Pharmaceutical ($BMRN), the rare disease drug specialist that has been rumored as a takeover target, reported a smaller loss in its third quarter on improved sales for some of its treatments. The Novato, CA, company reported that it lost $5.4 million, or 4 cents per share, in the last quarter compared with a loss of $17.6 million, or 16 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue was up 13% to $128.1 million. Analysts had predicted a loss 5 times that much but the drugmaker said sales of Naglazyme, its treatment for an inherited disease that causes retardation, and Kuvan, a treatment for the genetic disorder PKU, which can interfere with brain development, both grew at double-digit rates. In July, there was a report that GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) and Shire ($SHPG), two U.K. drugmakers that already sell drugs for rare diseases, might be sniffing around BioMarin and a deal could come soon. Of course, rumors of this kind often are floated. There were estimates that BioMarin could fetch $7 billion. Story | More