Sanofi profit gain beats market view on bestseller drug Dupixent (updated)
28/04/2022 07:02
(Adds details on clinical trial in Russia, COVID-19 vaccine,)
April 28 (Reuters) - French healthcare group Sanofi's
SASY.PA first-quarter adjusted earnings gained 16.2% on sales
growth of its bestselling drug Dupixent and a rebound in demand
for prescription-free drugs.
First-quarter business operating income, or adjusted
earnings before interest and tax, rose to 3.07 billion euros
($3.23 billion), surpassing the average analyst estimate of 2.84
billion euros posted on the company's website.
The drugmaker added it would stop patient recruitment for
clinical trials in Russia and Belarus, following Russia's attack
on Ukraine, causing study results in the area of multiple
sclerosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to be
delayed.
The timing of requests for regulatory approval, however, was
unchanged, it added.
The company last month said peak annual sales for Dupixent,
jointly developed with Regeneron REGN.O , would be more than 13
billion euros, up from a previous target of more than 10
billion. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2VW09K
The drug's potential use against COPD, sometimes called
smoker's lung, would come on top of that and trial results have
so far been expected next year.
Sanofi said on Thursday that it still expects 2022 adjusted
group earnings per share to grow at a low double-digit
percentage.
Revenues of eczema and asthma treatment Dupixent jumped over
45% to 1.61 billion euros, beating an analyst consensus of 1.58
billion euros, on prescriptions in dermatitis, asthma and
certain nasal infections.
The French group added that it and partner GlaxoSmithKline
GSK.L , who fell behind in the race to launch a COVID-19
vaccine, were working on a next-generation booster vaccine for
broad protection against all coronavirus variants of concern,
with trial data expected during the second quarter of this year.
($1 = 0.9500 euros)
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger;
Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Uttaresh.V)
((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 220133634;))