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Celgene Admits It Screwed Up Otezla Estimates; Investors Lose Confidence

 
• By Mandy Jackson

Q3 revenue grew 10% to $3.29bn, but came in below consensus, mostly due to Otezla. The blockbuster drug's new reality and recent GED-0301 failure in Crohn's disease contributed to Celgene's decision to lower guidance for both 2017 and 2020.

Glass broken cracks splinters

CEO Mark Alles started Celgene Corp.'s third quarter earnings call with a mea culpa, admitting that the company's estimates for Otezla (apremilast) – the cornerstone of its inflammation and immunology franchise – "did not adequately anticipate" psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis market realities.

Confidence in Celgene's forecasting abilities was understandably shaken on Oct. 26, since just three months earlier executives spent a good part of the company's second quarter call reassuring analysts and investors that a quarter-over-quarter dip in Otezla sales during the first quarter had been corrected. (Also see "Celgene Eases Angst Over Otezla, Sets The Stage For Growth" - Scrip, 28 July, 2017

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Sarepta Slammed By Double Blow: Elevidys Sales Miss, Prasad’s CBER Appointment

 
• By Mandy Jackson

Sarepta’s stock price was battered after Vinay Prasad was appointed to lead the US FDA’s CBER, then the company’s shares were bruised when Q1 Elevidys sales came in below consensus.

BeiGene To Trade Beach For Chalet In Swiss Redomiciling As BeOne

 
• By Alaric DeArment

The biotech saw a slight quarter-over-quarter decline in sales from the BTK inhibitor Brukinsa, which it attributed to seasonality, while revenues overall missed some analyst estimates.

Copycats Compound Novo’s Wegovy Growth Problems

 
• By Andrew McConaghie

The US FDA has ordered compounders of the Danish firm's obesity drug semaglutide to shut up shop later this month, but competition from Eli Lilly is only increasing.

Stock Watch: Market Optimism Outshines Q1 Currency And Tariff Woes

 
• By Andy Smith

The weak US dollar helped some companies reporting first-quarter results and hindered others reporting in stronger currencies. But even the impacts of currencies and Medicare modernization on first-quarter revenues were overlooked when an end to the trade wars seemed possible.

More from Business

Industry Makes Its Case To Trump In Effort To Sidestep Tariffs

 
• By Jessica Merrill

Pharmaceutical industry organizations offered alternatives to tariffs that could maintain a secure domestic supply chain in public comments filed in response to a 232 investigation.

Copycats Compound Novo’s Wegovy Growth Problems

 
• By Andrew McConaghie

The US FDA has ordered compounders of the Danish firm's obesity drug semaglutide to shut up shop later this month, but competition from Eli Lilly is only increasing.

Stock Watch: Market Optimism Outshines Q1 Currency And Tariff Woes

 
• By Andy Smith

The weak US dollar helped some companies reporting first-quarter results and hindered others reporting in stronger currencies. But even the impacts of currencies and Medicare modernization on first-quarter revenues were overlooked when an end to the trade wars seemed possible.