Global giant Catalent reported slightly weaker second-quarter revenues and earnings but a stronger manufacturing partnership with Moderna.
The company said in a Feb. 7 earning release that “a substantial decrease in COVID-19-related revenue quarter-over-quarter was partially offset by a substantial increase in our non-COVID revenue.” The CDMO's net revenues for the quarter of $1.15 billion were 6% lower than the $1.22 billion reported for the same time frame a year ago.
Net earnings for the period were $81 million, or $0.45 per basic share and $0.44 per diluted share, versus $93 million a year ago.
Additionally, the company announced an extension and expansion of its manufacturing partnership with Moderna that will see Catalent produce products with the drugmaker that will include “multiple formats across its North American and European biologics drug product facilities.”
Catalent will continue to provide drug product fill/finish services and production capacity for Moderna’s COVID-19 programs. The two also plan to extend their partnership to include non-COVID-19 programs such as flu and respiratory syncytial virus vaccines, starting with Catalent’s manufacturing site in Bloomington, Indiana, and later its facility in Anagni, Italy.
“Notably, our extended partnership with Moderna, a pioneer in mRNA technology, and our recently expanded partnership with Sarepta, a leader in gene therapy, build on our long experience with customers in these growth areas,” Alessandro Maselli, Catalent’s president and CEO, said in the release. “In addition, we are improving efficiency with the restructuring actions that we have executed recently, and we are bringing a renewed focus on efficiency across our organization as a whole.”
Maselli took the reins at Catalent from longtime CEO John Chiminski last year. Maselli immediately set to work to restructure the company and its operations in an effort to provide more offerings to customers and fuel future growth by developing dedicated teams on its pharmaceutical, consumer health and clinical development and supply solutions businesses.
Fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, Catalent has seen strong growth in the market over the past two years, including deals with Moderna on its mRNA-based shot as well as pacts with Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca on their more traditional vaccines. Catalent is also working on several investigational vaccine candidates in addition to an experimental antiviral and a monoclonal antibody drug prospect.