AstraZeneca sees big sales drop in Q2
pharmafile | July 26, 2012 | News story | Sales and Marketing | AstraZeneca, Brennan, Brilinta, Q2, Seroquel
AstraZeneca has today reported a large drop in revenue for the second quarter.
The firm has been hit by major patent losses that have seen revenue drop by a whopping 18% at constant exchange rates, down to $6.66 billion.
The loss of its big selling antipsychotic Seroquel has been responsible for much of the downturn in revenue, as the drug’s sales have more than halved to $647 million compared to this time last year.
Its Seroquel IR range took an even harder hit, losing 75% of its revenue, down now to just $277 million. Its biggest selling drug Crestor also had a wobble, losing 5% compared to last year, down to $1.59 billion.
Even sales of the company’s great white hope Brilinta, its new antiplatelet drug launched last year, were a sluggish $18 million for the quarter, far below its blockbuster projections.
Oncology medicines Faslodex for breast cancer and Iressa for lung cancer were the biggest growth drivers, seeing an increase of 24% and 13% respectively.
AstraZeneca reiterated its forecast for a fall in full-year core earnings to between $5.85 and $6.15 a share, with revenues set to decline by a low- to mid-teen percentage rate this year in constant currencies.
It has been an especially difficult quarter for the firm after its chief executive David Brennan bowed to pressure and left the firm in April, after a string of late-stage pipeline failures and poor financial results.
Simon Lowth, who took over a interim chief executive after Brennan’s departure, said: “As we expected, the loss of exclusivity on some key brands and tough market conditions have resulted in a decline in revenue and earnings in the second quarter.
“[But] despite these challenges, we are on track to achieve our financial targets for the full year.”
He added: “Our long-term priorities remain unchanged. We are driving the performance of brands that retain exclusivity, investing in markets with long-term potential, reshaping the cost base for sustainable competitiveness and continuing to drive for productivity on our investments in innovation, whether internally or externally sourced.”
Lowth notes it has not been all doom and gloom, and was excited by the firm’s tie-up with Amgen and the acquisition of US biotech Ardea, coupled also with the expansion of its new diabetes alliance with Bristol-Myers Squibb and Amylin.
Ben Adams
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