| ICOS buoyed by Cialis
sales
22 Oct, 2004
BOTHELL - U.S. sales of Cialis jumped 38 percent
during the third quarter, while the joint venture
that markets the drug dramatically cut its net
loss, ICOS Corp. reported Thursday.
ICOS and its partner for Cialis,
Eli Lilly and Co., said worldwide sales of the
erectile dysfunction drug topped $154 million
in the third quarter.
That compares with $137 million in the second
quarter of this year and $50 million in the
same period of 2003. At this time last year,
Cialis had not yet been approved by U.S. drug
regulators.
In this country alone, third-quarter sales
totaled $70 million, up impressively from $51
million in the second quarter.
Paul Clark, chairman and chief executive of
Bothell-based ICOS, said he was "delighted"
by the U.S. sales increase.
He added that, as of September, Cialis had
captured about 17 percent of the total market
for prescription erectile dysfunction drugs.
Pfizer's Viagra, which still holds 70 percent
of the market, saw sales drop from more than
$470 million to just over $400 million in the
third quarter. Cialis
leads both Viagra and Levitra as the preferred
drug among patients choosing among the three,
Clark said.
Paul Latta, biotech analyst at McAdams Wright
Ragen in Seattle, said he also was pleasantly
surprised by the drug's performance in this
country, which represents the world's largest
drug market.
"I think the results were solid. The sales
were in line with expectations, and the loss
was much better than expected," Latta said.
Sales elsewhere in the world didn't grow as
much as the U.S. totals, partially because European
sales fell slightly from the second quarter.
ICOS and Lilly blamed the closure of Lilly's
European drug distribution center in July because
of improvements to the facility.
But any tinge of disappointment over the sales
in Europe was overshadowed by the smaller loss
reported by ICOS and Lilly's joint venture,
known as Lilly ICOS.
For the second quarter, a $70 million loss
was viewed favorably by many analysts because
it beat expectations. The third quarter's loss
shrank to $21.4 million - about half what Latta
expected.
Clark said the shrinking loss was due to "a
combination of steady revenue growth, cost management
and the timing of certain marketing and sales
initiatives." He said it's not likely to
shrink again in the fourth quarter.
Overall, Clark said, Cialis sales should end
up about $550 million for the year, about the
middle of the $500 million to $600 million range
predicted earlier this year.
Thursday's good news sent ICOS
stock price up $1.50 during a day when some
pharmaceutical stocks struggled. When the stock
markets closed, shares of ICOS had settled back
down to $21.78, up 12 cents. ICOS will report
on its individual third-quarter performance
in two weeks.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
source:-http://heraldnet.com
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