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good morning. Today is a very busy and spooky eve of Halloween. Several companies reported large losses in their financial results this morning. Let’s get started.
What you need to know this morning
Sales and profits fell short, a rare setback for Lilly
Eli Lilly’s third-quarter sales and profits were lower than expected, a move that has consistently reported strong sales and exceeded profit estimates since demand for its blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs began to rise. It was a rare stumbling block.
Overall sales were $11.4 billion, lower than the $12.2 billion expected by analysts compiled by Visible Alpha. Adjusted earnings per share were also below expectations at $1.18.
Lilly said sales of its GLP-1 drug were affected as drug wholesalers reduced their purchases of the product. Diabetes drug Munjaro and obesity drug Zepbound posted revenue of $3.1 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively, which were below analysts’ expectations of $3.6 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively.
read more.
Sales of GSK’s RSV vaccine plummet
It was clear that sales of GSK’s once-booming RSV vaccine would decline from a year earlier as recommendations for who should be vaccinated in the United States narrowed. But third-quarter results released this morning showed Alexbee’s sales fell more than 70%, falling even further than analysts expected.
GSK’s vaccine struggles (sales of its shingles vaccine didn’t pick up either) caused its stock to drop several percentage points on Wednesday, even though the company announced strong results for its HIV and cancer drugs.
GSK expressed confidence in the long-term prospects for its RSV vaccine, but CEO Emma Walmsley acknowledged in a call with reporters that there were short-term challenges. That’s a significant turnaround from 2023, when Arexvy hit $1.5 billion in sales in its debut year and was seen as a new supplier to the pharmaceutical giant with stable revenue.
Read more from STAT’s Drew Joseph.
Biogen reports mixed third-quarter results and sales
From my colleague Adam Feuerstein: Biogen on Wednesday reported third-quarter earnings that slightly beat Wall Street expectations, but the company’s two new drug launches most important to Biogen’s turnaround efforts, Rekenbi and Results for Sky Claris were mixed.
Total revenue for the quarter was $2.5 billion, slightly above the consensus estimate of $2.4 billion, according to Visible Alpha. Sales of Alzheimer’s disease drug Requemby exceeded Wall Street expectations at $67 million, but sales of Friedreich’s ataxia drug Sky Claris fell short at $102 million.
On an adjusted basis, Biogen’s third-quarter earnings were $4.08 per share, beating consensus estimates of $3.79 per share.
Biogen raised its earnings outlook for the remainder of the year to a range of $16.10 to $16.60 per share, from its previous estimate of $15.75 to $16.25. The sales forecast remains unchanged.
Roche’s brain shuttle drug shows early promise
Roche’s experimental Alzheimer’s disease treatment successfully cleared amyloid from patients’ brains in an early-stage trial, the company reported Wednesday, adding to evidence that the drug shows promise.
Early findings about the treatment, an antibody called trontinumab, may be safer than some other amyloid-clearing treatments, although Roche has not yet assessed whether there were corresponding changes in cognitive function. It suggests sex. In particular, the brain swelling and bleeding seen with other antibodies is relatively low.
Unlike Roche’s previous attempts to develop Alzheimer’s disease drugs, trontinnemab is part of the company’s Brain, which is designed to transport the drug across the blood-brain barrier so more molecules can reach target tissues. Used in conjunction with shuttle technology.
Read more from STAT’s Drew Joseph.
Lilly promotes dosage changes for Alzheimer’s disease drug
New data shows that a change in the dosing regimen for Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s disease drug Kisunra reduced the rate of brain swelling in patients in a trial. But even if the new dosing schedule is approved by regulators, it’s unclear whether it will convince doctors that the treatment is safer for patients.
Doctors are still waiting for detailed results, and some clinicians are reluctant to use Kisunra or Rekenbi, a competing treatment from Eisai and Biogen. These are the only drugs on the U.S. market aimed at slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, although they have only modest efficacy, along with potentially serious risks of brain swelling and bleeding.
read more.
Startup invests $115 million to pivot to pain treatment
Axonis Therapeutics, a biotech company that has been quietly active for the past five years, announced this morning that it has raised $115 million in a Series A round led by Cormorant Asset Management and venBio Partners.
The company was originally founded in 2019 to develop treatments for spinal cord injuries and paralysis. The company put that effort on the back burner and found another source of funding, but it’s still working on it.
The company is now using the new funding to enter an emerging area of drug development: non-addictive treatments for pain. The company is pursuing a mechanism that several other companies, most notably Vertex Pharmaceuticals, have also tested in recent years.
Read more from STAT’s Allison DeAngelis.
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