Top 5 pharma companies’ Q3 results
pharmafile | November 6, 2015 | Feature | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | financial results, revenue, sales
The leading pharma players have been able to report largely positive financial results to their shareholders in the third quarter of 2015, but who had the most to shout about? We look through the figures.
(Companies ranked by 2014 global sale. Source GlobalData)
5. Merck/MSD
Merck posted worldwide sales of $10.1 billion in Q3 2015, a 4% increase after accounting for the effects of foreign exchange and the company’s acquisitions and divestitures. Pharmaceutical division sales, at $8.9bn, were up 2% after the effects of currency were accounted for. Top-selling drug Januvia (sitagliptin) and Janumet (sitagliptin/metformin) earned $1.6bn in sales, up 17% year on year after currency changes.
4. Sanofi
Growing sales at the French company’s biologics firm Genzyme (+32.7%) and in animal health (+9.3%) counteracted a decline in its key area of diabetes products. Quarterly net income rose 5% at constant exchange rates to £1.5 billion and total group sales were up 3.4% £6.78 billion. Announcing the results, the company predicted a decline in global diabetes sales over the next three years of between four and 8%.
3. Roche
The Swiss company reported 6% sales growth for the first nine months of 2015, to $36.94 billion, and revised its sales outlook to reflect the upturn in performance. In pharma, the company’s oncology and immunology products performed strongest, with sales of the HER2-positive breast cancer medicines, Herceptin (trastuzumab), Perjeta (pertuzumab) and Kadcyla (trastuzumab emtansine) growing by a combined 19%.
Sales of the rheumatoid arthritis treatment Actemra/RoActemra (tocilizumab) jumped 22%, and chronic hives and asthma drug Xolair (omalizumab) climbed 25%. Sales declines were seen for the now off-patent anti-viral medicine Valcyte and oral chemotherapy Xeloda.
2. Pfizer
Q3 adjusted income rose to $3.73 billion from $3.66 billion last year, representing growth of 1.9%, although revenues fell 2.2% to $12.09 billion, taking the decline to 5% for the nine months of 2015 so far.
The US-based company said revenue growth in developed markets was driven primarily by the strong performance of new products Prevnar 13 vaccine; Ibrance (palbociclib), for metastatic breast cancer; and the anticoagulant Eliquis (apixaban), as well as from Lyrica (pregabalin), primarily in the US, and the inclusion of one month of legacy Hospira US operations. Pfizer completed the Hospira acquisition in February.
1. Novartis
Not such a great quarter for the Swiss company, whose performance was hit by an agreed $390 million settlement for US kickback allegations. Regardless, results fell short of analysts’ expectations, not helped by struggling eyecare business Alcon and the stronger US dollar, which dampened the benefits of the new oncology assets acquired from GlaxoSmithKline in an asset-swap earlier this year.
The pharmaceuticals division and generics unit Sandoz performed well, but three-month revenues of $12.6bn represented a 6% year-on-year decline. Net income also missed the estimated $3.13 billion, coming in at $3.06 billion. However, Novartis looks forward to brighter times ahead with the likely launch of Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan) and Cosentyx (secukinumab) in 2016: both drugs are predicted to bring in multi-billion sales.
Joel Levy
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