Three months ago, when Bristol Myers Squibb, dropped its 2022 Revlimid sales estimate by $500 million, it was an ominous sign that the aging multiple myeloma drug was fading fast under its initial assault in Europe from generic competition.
With Teva then launching the first generic Revlimid in the U.S., it spelled more trouble for BMS.
But on Wednesday, when BMS reported its second-quarter earnings, Revlimid showed it can take a punch. For now, BMS is sticking with its guidance for 2022 Revlimid sales to fall between $9 and $9.5 billion. Sales of the drug crescendoed at $12.8 billion last year.
In fact, Revlimid's second-quarter sales exceeded analyst expectations of $2.1 billion, coming in at $2.5 billion. That was, however, a 22% drop from last year and down from $2.8 billion in the first quarter.
Revlimid's performance, nonetheless, helped BMS top expectations for overall revenue for the quarter. Its $11.9 billion figure was $400 million higher than the analyst consensus and a 2% increase over the same period last year.
As more generics enter the U.S. market, BMS expects the erosion to continue as it projects Revlimid sales to be $2.1 billion in the third quarter. Sales of the drug crescendoed at $12.8 billion last year.
Helping hold off the generic onslaught is the volume-limited deals the company has made with the producers of those generics. “We know there will be variability quarter to quarter based on how generics will deploy their volume,” BMS chief financial officer David Elkins said in a conference call.
Most of Revlimid’s erosion so far has been in international markets, Elkins noted. In the U.S., others expected to launch generics this year include Indian companies Natco, Sun Pharma, Zydus Cadila, Cipla and Dr. Reddy’s.
“We understand that specialty pharmacies are mainly utilizing the current generic for new patients to ensure continuity of treatment,” Elkins said.
Besides Revlimid, other BMS drugs are also in decline because of loss of exclusivity. But two key drugs are helping compensate: blood thinner Eliquis, which rang up $3.23 billion for an increase of 16% year over year, and cancer med Opdivo which pulled in $2.06 billion, for an 8% increase.