Worcester-based RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp. lost $18.4 million in 2009, a 28 percent increase from the previous year.
In the fourth quarter, the company lost $6.1 million compared to $4 million in the same period the year before.
The company, which appointed new President and CEO Noah D. Beerman in November, ended the year with $5.7 million in cash and equivalents compared to $9.9 million at the end of 2008. Its research and development expenses increased from $2 million to $2.4 million.
RXi is a discovery stage company developing drugs based on RNAi, a technology that treats diseases by interfering with the genes thought to cause them.
