Regeneron profit tanks on zero U.S. sales from COVID drug for second quarter

[August 03, 2022]  (Reuters) -Regeneron Pharmaceuticals reported a 72.5% fall in quarterly profit on Wednesday, hurt by lacklustre sales of its COVID-19 antibody cocktail after the U.S. health regulator limited its use earlier this year.

The Regeneron Pharmaceuticals company logo is seen on a building at the company's Westchester campus in Tarrytown, New York, U.S. September 17, 2020. Picture taken September 17, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

The company recorded no sales from the drug, REGEN-COV, in the United States for the second consecutive quarter.

Regeneron had warned of no U.S. sales from the drug in the first half of the year after the U.S. regulator banned it, with some exceptions, in all states due to its lack of effectiveness against the Omicron coronavirus variant.

REGEN-COV's fate is shared by several therapeutics developed during the early phase of the pandemic, including sotrovimab from GSK and Vir Biotechnology, and the antibody combo developed by Eli Lilly, as they too have largely fallen behind in the United States with the virus evolving.

Regeneron's second-quarter revenue fell to $2.86 billion in the second quarter ended June 30 from $5.14 billion a year ago.

The hit from lack of COVID related sales was offset by strong sales of its blockbuster drugs including anti-inflammation drug Dupixent, jointly developed with Sanofi, and eye treatment Eylea.

Label expansion of Dupixent in the past few months drove sales higher, with revenue jumping nearly 40% to $2.09 billion in the quarter.

The drugmaker's net profit fell to $852 million, or $7.47 per share, compared with $3.1 billion, or $27.97 per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

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