AstraZeneca Plc expects to return to growth in 2018 as new oncology, diabetes and cardiovascular products boost group sales, offsetting the loss of market share for the statin Crestor which faces generic competition in Europe and Japan.
The company confirmed on 18 May that product sales for the year as a whole are expected to increase by a low single-digit percentage point at constant exchange rates. In 2017, product sales declined by 5%.
In a teleconference with journalists, Pascal Soriot, the chief executive, said the roll-out of new products will gain momentum in the second half and continue into the following year. In the first quarter, the company booked more than $400 million in sales from new products. However total revenue for the quarter was down by 4% at $5.2 billion, affected by the Crestor losses. At constant exchange rates the decline was 9%. Revenue consisted of product sales of $4.9 billion and externalisation revenue of $193 million. The externalisation revenue includes income from divested medicines and out-licensing deals.
AstraZeneca’s potentially most lucrative out-licencing deal is an agreement with Merck & Co Inc to co-develop Lynparza (olaparib), its poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, for multiple cancer indications.
Lynparza was first approved in the US in 2014 for ovarian cancer associated with defective BRCA genes. In the first quarter, it received a new indication in the US for breast cancer and in the EU as maintenance therapy for ovarian cancer regardless of BRCA status. The company also received regulatory approvals in the first quarter for Tagrisso (osimertinib) as a first-line lung cancer therapy in the US; for Imfinzi (durvalumab) as a lung cancer treatment in the US and for Lokelma (ZS-9) for hyperkalaemia in the EU.
Oncology drug sales led product sales in the quarter with an increase of 39%. Sales of cardiovascular, renal and metabolism drugs were down by 8% and sales of respiratory medicines were flat. The outcome of the cardiovascular group was affected by a drop in Crestor sales.
Geographically, AstraZeneca increased sales to China by 31% to $1.025 billion, its highest quarterly sales figure yet.
AstraZeneca reported an operating profit of $696 million, down by 24% and an operating margin of 13.4%, down from 17% a year-earlier. The operating result was negatively affected by the cost of a legal settlement.
Copyright 2018 Evernow Publishing Ltd.