By Paul Sandle
LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Shire Plc beat third-quarter expectations and raised its full-year outlook, helped by robust sales of its former hyperactivity blockbuster Adderall XR and production woes at rival Genzyme.
The British pharmaceutical firm posted non-Gaap earnings per American depositary share of $1.16, beating the average forecast in a company poll of analysts by about 20 percent, after sales of Adderall XR, which lost exclusivity in the second quarter of 2009, held up better than expected.
Shire raised its full-year guidance on the same measure to $4.20 from 'trending towards $4.00' three months ago.
Shares in the group, which is buying Belgian drugmaker Movetis, were up 0.5 percent by 1417 GMT.
Deutsche Bank said most key products came in ahead of forecasts, with its VPRIV and Adderall XR drugs notably strong.
'We believe the growth story remains firmly on track,' they said.
VPRIV, its treatment for Gaucher's, a rare genetic disease in which a fatty substance accumulates in the organs, made sales of $49.5 million, benefiting from production problems at Genzyme, the world leader in rare disease treatments, which is the target of a takeover bid by Sanofi-Aventis.
Shire's drug Replagal, which treats Fabry, another rare disease, has taken share from Genzyme's Fabrazyme, which will be in short supply until the middle of next year.
The medicine, which does not have full approval in the United States, is now treating 2,300 patients after adding 330 in the quarter, Chief Executive Angus Russell said.
'We believe next year, based on our existing manufacturing facility, we can add another 300 patients, so we do see the potential for some more market growth,' he said on a call with reporters on Friday.
Rare diseases are increasingly attracting the attention of big pharma, keen to find new drugs as patents on their blockbusters expire.
GlaxoSmithKline on Friday licensed a late-stage candidate for the treatment of Fabry disease from Amicus Therapeutics.
Shire had licensed the drug in early stage development but felt its prospects were not strong enough to continue, Russell said.
HYPERACTIVITY UP
Sales of Adderall XR rose 40 percent to $99.7 million.
But Shire ended a co-promotion deal with GlaxoSmithKline for its slow-release ADHD drug Vyvanse. Sales of the drug rose 17 percent to $151.2 million, just short of analyst expectations.
'(The deal) really wasn't adding any value in our minds,' Russell said. 'All the growth in the adult market is being driven by Shire's salesforce alone.'
Glaxo has launched court action over payments relating to the deal. 'The litigation frankly surprises us enormously,' Russell said. 'We think we have a very robust case.'
Also on Friday, the group reported positive results from a small early-phase II trial of Vyvanse as an adjunctive treatment in major depressive disorder, and Russell said it would be meeting with the FDA to help shape development plans for a larger trial next year.
Shire reported revenue of $874 million, up 31 percent, against a company-supplied consensus of $851 million.
(Editing by Will Waterman) Keywords: SHIRE/ (paul.sandle@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542-6843; Reuters Messaging: paul.sandle.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Shire Plc beat third-quarter expectations and raised its full-year outlook, helped by robust sales of its former hyperactivity blockbuster Adderall XR and production woes at rival Genzyme.
The British pharmaceutical firm posted non-Gaap earnings per American depositary share of $1.16, beating the average forecast in a company poll of analysts by about 20 percent, after sales of Adderall XR, which lost exclusivity in the second quarter of 2009, held up better than expected.
Shire raised its full-year guidance on the same measure to $4.20 from 'trending towards $4.00' three months ago.
Shares in the group, which is buying Belgian drugmaker Movetis, were up 0.5 percent by 1417 GMT.
Deutsche Bank said most key products came in ahead of forecasts, with its VPRIV and Adderall XR drugs notably strong.
'We believe the growth story remains firmly on track,' they said.
VPRIV, its treatment for Gaucher's, a rare genetic disease in which a fatty substance accumulates in the organs, made sales of $49.5 million, benefiting from production problems at Genzyme, the world leader in rare disease treatments, which is the target of a takeover bid by Sanofi-Aventis.
Shire's drug Replagal, which treats Fabry, another rare disease, has taken share from Genzyme's Fabrazyme, which will be in short supply until the middle of next year.
The medicine, which does not have full approval in the United States, is now treating 2,300 patients after adding 330 in the quarter, Chief Executive Angus Russell said.
'We believe next year, based on our existing manufacturing facility, we can add another 300 patients, so we do see the potential for some more market growth,' he said on a call with reporters on Friday.
Rare diseases are increasingly attracting the attention of big pharma, keen to find new drugs as patents on their blockbusters expire.
GlaxoSmithKline on Friday licensed a late-stage candidate for the treatment of Fabry disease from Amicus Therapeutics.
Shire had licensed the drug in early stage development but felt its prospects were not strong enough to continue, Russell said.
HYPERACTIVITY UP
Sales of Adderall XR rose 40 percent to $99.7 million.
But Shire ended a co-promotion deal with GlaxoSmithKline for its slow-release ADHD drug Vyvanse. Sales of the drug rose 17 percent to $151.2 million, just short of analyst expectations.
'(The deal) really wasn't adding any value in our minds,' Russell said. 'All the growth in the adult market is being driven by Shire's salesforce alone.'
Glaxo has launched court action over payments relating to the deal. 'The litigation frankly surprises us enormously,' Russell said. 'We think we have a very robust case.'
Also on Friday, the group reported positive results from a small early-phase II trial of Vyvanse as an adjunctive treatment in major depressive disorder, and Russell said it would be meeting with the FDA to help shape development plans for a larger trial next year.
Shire reported revenue of $874 million, up 31 percent, against a company-supplied consensus of $851 million.
(Editing by Will Waterman) Keywords: SHIRE/ (paul.sandle@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542-6843; Reuters Messaging: paul.sandle.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.