Teva boosts forecasts as sales of generics, Huntington's disease drug jump
Adds details from conference call in paragraphs 4,5,6 and 7; analyst comment in paragraph 15, graphic
By Bhanvi Satija and Michael Erman
July 31 (Reuters) -Teva Pharmaceutical Industries TEVA.N raised its annual forecasts on Wednesday, banking on strong demand for its cheaper copycat medicines, including a GLP-1 generic, and branded treatment for Huntington's disease.
The drugmaker has been looking to launch six biosimilars by 2027, which, along with its branded medicines, is expected to drive growth.
Teva's branded medicine trio includes Austedo for treating Huntington's disease, Ajovy for migraine and recently launched Uzedy for schizophrenia.
The company, which had launched its rheumatoid arthritis drug Simlandi — a close copy of AbbVie's ABBV.N blockbuster Humira — in the United States earlier this year, said it was pleased with the progress of the launch.
"We're well set for this (Simlandi) to generate some performance in third and fourth quarters of this year," CEO Richard Francis said on a post-earnings call.
Francis said Teva was also better prepared for the launch of psoriasis treatment Selarsdi, a biosimilar to Johnson & Johnson's JNJ.N Stelara, in the U.S. in February 2025.
Pharmacy benefit managers and insurers are "becoming more knowledgeable and have an increasing appetite for the benefit of biosimilars and that will play favorably for Stelara", Francis added.
The company's U.S.-listed shares, which have jumped 70% so far this year, were trading up about 9% at $17.86 — their highest level since February 2019.
U.S. sales for Teva's generic products — which make up nearly a quarter of the company's total revenue — rose about 16% in the second quarter on demand for its generic of Bristol Myers' BMY.N blood cancer drug Revlimid.
While Teva sees revenue from generic Revlimid slowing down later this year, it expects to minimize the impact of competition.
The drugmaker said liraglutide, a generic of Novo Nordisk's NOVOb.CO drug Victoza for patients with type 2 diabetes, also received a lot of attention and helped drive growth in the segment.
Teva's liraglutide injection, launched in June in the U.S., is the first GLP-1 generic to enter the market.
The company expects 2024 revenue to be between $16 billion and $16.4 billion, versus its previous range of $15.7 billion to $16.3 billion.
It also raised the lower end of its annual profit forecast to $2.30 per share from $2.20.
The second-quarter performance and the forecast raise imply Teva's improved underlying strength, said Jefferies analyst Glen Santangelo.
Teva's second-quarter profit of 61 cents per share beat LSEG estimates of 57 cents.
The company lifted its annual revenue forecast for Austedo by $100 million to about $1.6 billion.
U.S. sales of Teva's generic products & some branded drugs https://reut.rs/4c37I4l
Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru and Michael Erman in New Jersey; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Shinjini Ganguli
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