VEC.L Share News (VEC)

March 21 (Reuters) - British drugmaker Vecturareported a worse-than-expected pretax loss for the full year onWednesday, dragged by lower royalties and higher costs relatedto the SkyePharma deal.

The company, which bought rival SkyePharma for 441 millionpounds ($617.49 million) in June 2016, said pretax loss stood at102.2 million pounds against analysts' expectations of a loss of88.7 million pounds, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The asthma inhaler-maker said total royalties fell to 52.6million pounds from 74.5 million pounds a year earlier. Thecompany derives 35 percent of its revenue from royalties.

In a strategy shift, Vectura moved from product developmentto partnered development of generic drugs for the U.S. market,allowing it to take money from higher-risk, early-stage projectsto invest in "relatively lower risk" ones.

Revenue rose 17.2 percent to 148 million pounds on higherdemand for its asthma products Flutiform and Ultibro.

The pharma firm, which develops formulations and technologyfor dry-powder inhalers, saw Flutiform sales rising 4 percent,while Ultibro and Seebri sales grew 10.9 percent.

Vectura has had a rough time since the SkyePharma deal,including a royalties row with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), delayswith Novartis launching its Ultibro inhaler in the U.S. andFlutiform failing a clinical study.

The troubles continued this year as its hopes to launch thefirst U.S. generic copy of GSK's best-selling Advair inhaler,along with partner Hikma Pharmaceuticals, were hit bydelayed approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Several analysts now expect generic Advair to be launched in2020, after the FDA last week insisted on a further clinicalstudy be conducted on the drug.

Vectura's share, which fell as much as 2.1 percent at marketopen, were flat at 0830 GMT.($1 = 0.7132 pounds)(Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing bySunil Nair)