Barr公司第一季度强大的普通Prozac销售收入飙升
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Generic drugmaker Barr Laboratories on Tuesday posted a roughly 545% jump in fiscal first-quarter profits as the company's sales surged on its generic version of Eli Lilly & Co.'s antidepressant Prozac (fluoxetine).
After a protracted legal battle with Lilly, Pomona, New York-based Barr won the right to market generic fluoxetine and began shipping 20-mg capsules of the drug on August 3.
Adoption of the generic proved to be faster than anticipated. According to Barr CEO Bruce Downey, the product accounted for 65% of the total market for 20-mg fluoxetine less than 2 months after its launch.
, 百拇医药
Generic Prozac comprised 55.5% of Barr's total quarterly revenues of $315.3 million. The total revenues were up from $103.1 million in the year-ago quarter, helping drive the company's net earnings to $67.1 million, or $1.80 per share.
In 2000, Barr posted fiscal first-quarter net earnings of $10.4 million, or $0.28 per share.
However, by the time Barr's generic hit the market, activity in the sector strongly indicated an earnings upswing should be expected.
, 百拇医药
In August, the nation's top pharmacy benefits management firm Merck-Medco said that it managed to switch 80% of its members who use home delivery for Prozac to generic fluoxetine within a week of availability. Earlier this month, Lilly lowered its third-quarter guidance, ultimately posting a 34% deterioration in sales for the Prozac family of drugs.
Analysts responded accordingly. Those polled by First Call/Thomson Financial projected, on average, profits of $1.77 per share for Barr in the quarter.
, http://www.100md.com
Barr has six months of marketing exclusivity on the 20-mg generic Prozac capsules, but it does not have the generic Prozac field entirely to itself. Other drugmakers have been selling other dosage forms of the drug.
Pharmaceutical Resources, for example, sells a 20-mg tablet. Some analysts believe Pharmaceutical Resources could chip away at Barr's six-month windfall by convincing patients and physicians that the tablet is just as convenient as the capsule, even though Lilly traditionally placed more emphasis on the capsule form.
, 百拇医药
Wall Street is also concerned that additional generic firms will flood the 20-mg market after the six-month period ends, lowering the price of the drug and grabbing market share.
Barr's sales, general and administrative expenses shot up 35% in the quarter to $16.4 million, primarily reflecting efforts surrounding the generic Prozac launch, while research and development spending rose 38% to $15.3 million as Barr funded outside clinical studies of its Seasonale oral contraceptive and CyPat for the treatment of prostate cancer symptoms.
, 百拇医药
Looking forward, Barr projected fiscal second-quarter earnings per share of between $1.30 and $1.40, 2 cents higher than the First Call/Thomson Financial consensus estimate.
Separately on Tuesday, Cincinnati-based Duramed Pharmaceuticals said that its shareholders had approved a merger with Barr. The planned stock-for-stock merger was announced in July; Barr's shareholders are scheduled to vote on Wednesday.
On the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Barr closed down 7.85, nearly 9%, at 79.55.
-New York Newsroom 212 273 1700, http://www.100md.com
After a protracted legal battle with Lilly, Pomona, New York-based Barr won the right to market generic fluoxetine and began shipping 20-mg capsules of the drug on August 3.
Adoption of the generic proved to be faster than anticipated. According to Barr CEO Bruce Downey, the product accounted for 65% of the total market for 20-mg fluoxetine less than 2 months after its launch.
, 百拇医药
Generic Prozac comprised 55.5% of Barr's total quarterly revenues of $315.3 million. The total revenues were up from $103.1 million in the year-ago quarter, helping drive the company's net earnings to $67.1 million, or $1.80 per share.
In 2000, Barr posted fiscal first-quarter net earnings of $10.4 million, or $0.28 per share.
However, by the time Barr's generic hit the market, activity in the sector strongly indicated an earnings upswing should be expected.
, 百拇医药
In August, the nation's top pharmacy benefits management firm Merck-Medco said that it managed to switch 80% of its members who use home delivery for Prozac to generic fluoxetine within a week of availability. Earlier this month, Lilly lowered its third-quarter guidance, ultimately posting a 34% deterioration in sales for the Prozac family of drugs.
Analysts responded accordingly. Those polled by First Call/Thomson Financial projected, on average, profits of $1.77 per share for Barr in the quarter.
, http://www.100md.com
Barr has six months of marketing exclusivity on the 20-mg generic Prozac capsules, but it does not have the generic Prozac field entirely to itself. Other drugmakers have been selling other dosage forms of the drug.
Pharmaceutical Resources, for example, sells a 20-mg tablet. Some analysts believe Pharmaceutical Resources could chip away at Barr's six-month windfall by convincing patients and physicians that the tablet is just as convenient as the capsule, even though Lilly traditionally placed more emphasis on the capsule form.
, 百拇医药
Wall Street is also concerned that additional generic firms will flood the 20-mg market after the six-month period ends, lowering the price of the drug and grabbing market share.
Barr's sales, general and administrative expenses shot up 35% in the quarter to $16.4 million, primarily reflecting efforts surrounding the generic Prozac launch, while research and development spending rose 38% to $15.3 million as Barr funded outside clinical studies of its Seasonale oral contraceptive and CyPat for the treatment of prostate cancer symptoms.
, 百拇医药
Looking forward, Barr projected fiscal second-quarter earnings per share of between $1.30 and $1.40, 2 cents higher than the First Call/Thomson Financial consensus estimate.
Separately on Tuesday, Cincinnati-based Duramed Pharmaceuticals said that its shareholders had approved a merger with Barr. The planned stock-for-stock merger was announced in July; Barr's shareholders are scheduled to vote on Wednesday.
On the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Barr closed down 7.85, nearly 9%, at 79.55.
-New York Newsroom 212 273 1700, http://www.100md.com