James Hester(Reuters) - Mylan on Monday raised the lower end of its 2017 forecasts as the US drugs maker looks set to benefit from the earlier-than-expected approval of its copycat of Teva’s blockbuster multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone.
Shares of the company rose 2% to $36.44 in early trading on Monday.
Mylan raised the lower end of its full-year revenue forecast to $11.75bn from $11.50bn. The company retained the upper end of the range at $12.50bn.
The pharma name increased the lower end of its adjusted earnings per share expectation by 15 cents to $4.45, while maintaining the upper end at $4.70.
US regulators last month approved two doses of Mylan’s generic version of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Copaxone.
Copaxone is the leading multiple sclerosis therapy worldwide as well as Teva’s best-selling drug, generating more than $4bn in revenue for the Israeli drug maker last year.
Mylan had earlier said it did not expect any major product launches until 2018.
But, Mylan’s third-quarter results highlighted the company’s struggles with declining sales of its blockbuster emergency allergy shot EpiPen.
Sales of EpiPen declined $245.1m on increased competition and higher governmental rebates following a settlement with the US Department of Justice, Mylan said.
Additionally, the company said third-party net sales in North America fell 22%, or $333.3m, from a year earlier. The company blamed falling generic prices and loss of market exclusivity for one of its drugs, the company said.
“The question for Mylan will be whether its higher barrier pipeline can help deliver through continued erosion headwinds,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Randall Stanicky said, adding “it could have been worse.”
Mylan’s net earnings were $88.3m, or 16 cents per share, in the third quarter ended September 30, compared with a loss of $119.8m, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier.
The year-ago quarter included litigation-related expenses of $558m.
Excluding items, Mylan earned $1.10 per share.
Total revenue fell 2.3% to $2.99bn.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.20 per share and revenue of $3.09bn, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
