Shire shrugs off fight from generic rivals
SHIRE yesterday reported second quarter revenues just ahead of expectations, as strong growth from new drugs offset a big hit from the loss of patent protection on hyperactivity pill Adderall XR.
Britain’s third-biggest drugmaker said quarterly sales of its previous blockbuster Adderall XR fell by 77 per cent to $67m (£39.3m) as it was hit by its first quarter of generic competition in the US market from Israel’s Teva. Chief executive Angus Russell said Shire had been braced for the decline. “We’re absolutely in line in the middle of our expectations for the erosion of XR,” he said.
New attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug Vyvanse, which Shire hopes will help replace lost revenue, booked sales up 75 per cent to $114m and sales of the group’s core products, excluding Adderall XR, rose 20 per cent.
Net income was $44.1m, compared with a loss of $79m, or 44 cents a share, a year earlier.