Last quarter, Regeneron rolled out 2016 growth expectations for star eye med Eylea that marked a big slowdown from 2015’s 54% clip. Now, though, the New York biotech says the slowdown won’t be quite as drastic as it initially expected.
On Thursday, Regeneron ($REGN) raised its guidance on the drug, taking it to a sales growth range of 20% to 25%. That’s an improvement from the 20% growth it forecast in February--though, as execs pointed out at the time, even that kind of performance would be a “pretty big deal” for a product in its fifth year of launch.
So why the higher expectations? Eylea--which Regeneron sells in the U.S., with partner Bayer handling Europe--beat the Street for the Tarrytown company in Q1, generating $781 million against the $769 million analysts expected. That performance helped total revenue surpass its mark too; it tallied $1.2 billion, passing a $1.17 billion consensus estimate. Non-GAAP EPS fell in line, checking in at $2.57.
Of course, these days Eylea is no longer Regeneron’s only moneymaker. It’s got PCSK9 therapy Praluent to its name, and as Sanofi ($SNY) reported last week, that newcomer brought in $13 million for the quarter--just over half the $25.4 million haul Wall Street predicted.
The good news for the pair on the PCSK9 front is that access is strong, Evercore ISI analyst Mark Schoenebaum wrote in a note to clients. As of April 1, 74% of commercially insured lives and 91% of Medicare lives had access to Praluent, which has fought for coverage against Amgen ($AMGN) nemesis Repatha.
And when it comes to who’s winning that race, “right now the U.S. market seems to be roughly split” between the two, Schoenebaum said.
- read Regeneron's release
Special Report: Top 15 drug launch superstars - Eylea - Regeneron
Related Articles:
Regeneron CEO, R&D chief's paychecks both top $40M
After a big 2015, Regeneron predicts slowing 2016 sales for launch superstar Eylea
Eylea follow-up data dulls its edge on Lucentis, endangering gains in key DME patient group
Sanofi's Praluent scores first place in line for UnitedHealth unit's PCSK9 patients
Two's company for PCSK9 meds as Praluent, Repatha both nab coverage from top PBM