LONDON, July 29 (APM) - Declining sales of big-selling insulin product Lantus contributed to a drop in sales at Sanofi for the second quarter of 2016, it was announced on Friday.
The French pharma company said in its financial statement for the period that net sales dropped 5.1% to 8.14 billion euros.
Lantus (insulin glargine) reported sales of 1.47 billion euros for the three months ending June 30, a drop of 11.2% from the previous year period.
This was due to several factors, including the availability of biosimilar versions of the drug in Europe and pricing pressures in the U.S., where Lantus sales declined 15.7% to 896 million euros.
Other influences on Lantus's weakened performance included competition from new long-acting insulins, including Sanofi's own Toujeo, which made 141 million euros for the second quarter of 2016, 106 million euros of which was recovered in the U.S. and 27 million euros in Europe.
Sales of Lantus are set to continue to decline, with Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim set to launch their version of insulin glargine, known as Basaglar, in the U.S. at the end of 2016 (APMMA 45492).
The drop in sales affected net income, which dropped 11.1% to 1.16 billion euros for the period, while earnings per share were 10% lower at 0.90 euros.
The decline in sales of Lantus and other older products, such as blood clot prevention drug Plavix (clopidogrel), were partially offset by the growth of newer products from Sanofi's Genzyme business, which was acquired by the company in 2011.
This biologics-focused business grew 20.1%, reaching revenues of 1.25 billion euros, driven by strong growth for products such as multiple sclerosis drugs Aubagio (teriflunomide) and Lemtrada (alemtuzumab). The former grew 58.3% to hit revenues of 315 million euros and the latter grew 100% to reach 108 million euros.
Rare disease products such as Myozyme (alglucosidase alfa) for Pompe disease and Fabrazyme (agalsidase beta) for Fabry disease also contributed to this growth.
Sanofi's chief executive, Olivier Brandicourt, said: "Our second quarter financial performance was in-line with expectations and reflected anticipated headwinds. Sanofi Genzyme grew 20% and Sanofi Pasteur performed well despite a delay in Dengvaxia uptake."
He highlighted several recent important events for the company, including the signing of an asset swap deal with Boehringer Ingelheim (APMMA 48483), the Japanese approval of Praluent (alirocumab) for high cholesterol and positive Phase III results for dupilumab for dermatitis (APMMA 48157).
Sanofi did not provide an update on its attempt to acquire cancer specialist Medivation, with the company increasing its offer after an initial rebuff (APMMA 48623).
Sanofi's product sales for Q2 2016:
- Lantus, 1.47 billion euros
- Lovenox, 414 million euros +0.5%
- Plavix, 392 million euros (-25.7%)
- Aubagio, 315 million euros +58.3%
- Renvela/Renager, 208 million euros (-7.4%)
- Toujeo, 141 million euros, NA
- Lemtrada, 108 million euros +100%
- Amaryl, 93 million euros (-9.2%)
- Apidra, 93 million euros (+3.2%)
- Jevtana, 88 million euros, +8.5%
- Thymoglobulin, 69 million euros, +4.3%
/tm/ak
TRY APM Market Access AND GET ACCESS TO THE FULL CONTENT
Interviews with KOLs/senior executives amongst the Regulators, Payers, Health, Medical & Pharmaceutical organisations
Events coverage with a unique focus on Market Access & sustainability of healthcare systems
6 European bureaus : Berlin, Brussels, London, Madrid, Milan & Paris
Ask for a Free trial and get access to the latest stories
Our coverage includes:
- Health Care
- Market Access
- HTA – policies & practices
- European medicine regulations
- Drug safety issues
- Pricing & Reimbursement
- International medicines agencies
If you are a Payer, Pharmaceutical or Consulting professional our premium data will keep you informed on the regulatory, pricing, market access and cost-effectiveness issues that impact all stakeholders.
REQUEST
an initial 10 day temporary access of APM Market Access.
