Regeneron beats quarterly profit estimates on eczema treatment strength

(Reuters) -Regeneron Pharmaceuticals on Thursday beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit, driven by strong demand for its eczema treatment, Dupixent.

Anti-inflammatory drug Dupixent, which was approved in 2017, has aided Regeneron (NASDAQ:)’s profits while sales of its eye drug Eylea has taken a backseat in recent quarters owing to increased competition from Roche’s Vabysmo.

Quarterly sales of Dupixent, recorded by its partner Sanofi (NASDAQ:), rose 33% to $3.10 billion.

Regeneron has been leaning on the eczema treatment as Eylea sales have missed Wall Street expectations so far this year, partly due to competition from Vabysmo since the rival secured U.S. approval last year.

Eylea sales for the quarter fell 11% to $1.49 billion, which included $43 million sales from the higher dose, or 8 milligram dose that recently received approval in the United States.

However, analysts are optimistic that the higher dose of Eylea launched in August should potentially bring the treatment back to growth.

With the launch, this could be the last quarter where Vabysmo impacts Eylea, said Wells Fargo analyst Mohit Bansal.

Bansal was expecting $40 million in sales for the higher dose of the drug in the current quarter and $133 million in 2023.

Regeneron is also studying Dupixent for a lung disease known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

An independent data monitoring committee will conduct an interim analysis of a late-stage study later this year, which could potentially support Regeneron’s application.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned $11.59 per share for the quarter, above analysts’ estimates of $10.72, according to LSEG data.

Regeneron’s total revenue of $3.36 billion beat expectations of $3.23 billion.