Even as Aubagio generics chip away at Sanofi’s sales in the U.S.—and soon, in Europe, too—the company is relying on a trio of new medicines to bring home at least €5 billion in peak sales in the coming years. In the meantime, Dupixent continues to soar across its clutch of immunology indications, zooming toward the €10 billion threshold in 2023, Sanofi executives said on a call with analysts Friday.
All told, Sanofi’s sales grew 3.3% to €9.96 billion (about $11 billion) in the second quarter of the year. Over the first six months of 2023, Sanofi generated €20.18 billion ($22.22 billion) in revenues.
The results are “better than expected” and mark a “solid quarter,” analysts at ODDO BHF wrote in a note to clients.
Revenues from Sanofi’s specialty care division jumped 11.8% to €4.4 billion (about $4.8 billion) during the most recent quarter, driven primarily by €2.56 billion (about $2.82 billion) in Dupixent sales—a 34.2% increase year over year. In the same category, Sanofi’s Pompe disease treatment Nexviazyme brought home €103 million ($113.4 million), growing a whopping 146.5%.
Together, those gains helped “more than” offset the effects of Aubagio generics in the U.S., the company said.
Aubagio generics launched in mid-March in the U.S., according to OptumRx. As a result, sales for the branded multiple sclerosis drug slumped 58% in the quarter, which the ODDO BHF analysts acknowledged was “lower than expected.” Aside from generic erosion in the U.S., Aubagio is facing a European loss of exclusivity in the fourth quarter, too.
As for cashcow Dupixent, the immunology med brought home €4.9 billion ($5.4 billion) in the first half of the year, and, with steady growth across all five indications, is set to cross the €10 billion threshold in 2023, the company’s VP of specialty care, Bill Sibold, said on a conference call Friday.
Looking ahead, Dupixent is awaiting a FDA decision in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) on October 22. An approval could unlock some 300,000 new Dupixent patients in the U.S. alone, Sibold said.
Sanofi's vaccines sales came in above expectations at 9.1% growth, or €1.2 billion, fueled by strong sales of the company’s COVID-19 shot in Europe and its polio, pertussis and Hib (PPH) vaccine outside Europe and the U.S.
The company is busy with several new launches. Beyfortus, its RSV prevention antibody for infants, just won an FDA approval and is anticipated to hit the market later this year. The company is also advancing the launches of hemophilia A therapy Altuviiio and Tzield to delay the onset of stage 3 Type 1 diabetes
Together, the trio could generate up to €5 billion in peak sales, Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson said on Friday’s call. This year alone, the triumvirate could bring home around €400 million, the company’s CFO, Jean-Baptiste Chasseloup de Chatillion, said.
On Beyfortus, Sanofi remains “fully on track” to launch the RSV prophylactic “this fall,” vaccines chief Triomphe told investors Friday. The antibody is set to go before the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) next week, and Sanofi is also expecting to receive inclusion in the agency’s Vaccines for Children (VFC) program, Triomphe said.
With the first half in the books, Sanofi is raising its guidance for the year. The company now expects its earnings per share to grow in the mid-single-digit percentage range, “barring unforeseen major adverse events.” The guidance upgrade includes some €400 million ($440.41 million) of expected “one-off” COVID vaccine revenues in the back half of the year.
Previously, Sanofi expected earnings per share to grow at low-single-digit percentages.