Celgene profit beats as psoriasis drug sales surge

By | January 31, 2019

(Reuters) – Celgene Corp, which is being bought by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, driven mainly by higher sales of psoriasis drug Otezla.

Bristol-Myers agreed to buy Celgene for about $ 74 billion earlier this month, a deal that will expand its pipeline of cancer drugs as the company goes head-to-head against rival Merck & Co.

Sales of Celgene’s biggest drug Revlimid rose 16.5 percent to $ 2.55 billion in the fourth quarter, in line with analysts’ expectations, according to Refinitiv IBES estimates.

Otezla brought in revenue of $ 448 million in the quarter, about 21 percent higher than last year and well above the average analyst estimate of $ 430.2 million.

The drugmaker, which also reaffirmed its forecast for 2020, posted a net profit of $ 1.07 billion, or $ 1.50 per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a loss of $ 81 million, or 10 cents per share, a year earlier, when it took a $ 1.21 billion charge related to the U.S. tax law overhaul.

Excluding one-time items, Celgene earned $ 2.39 per share, above estimates of $ 2.32 per share.

Total revenue rose nearly 16 percent to $ 4.04 billion, higher than the $ 3.99 billion analysts had expected.

Reporting by Manogna Maddipatla and Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D’Silva

Reuters: Health News

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