Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMS) posted net income of $969 million in the third quarter of 2011 and is optimistic about its pipeline of drugs approaching or in phase 3 trials as they near approval. It may have something to do with its blockbuster blood-thinning drug, Plavix, which has projected sales of $7 billion this year and is facing the end of its patent life next year.
Global sales rose 11 percent to $5.35 billion. On the conference call with analysts, CEO Lamberto Andreotti said the company’s global licensing deal with Innate Pharma and acquisition of Amira Pharmaceuticals, a drug developer for inflammatory and fibrotic diseases, “are pure examples of things that we are interested in.”
Revenue from Abilify, a drug for treating schizophrenia, made it the second best-selling drug for the company. Although there is some optimism that sales for Yervoy, a drug for patients with advanced melanoma, will continue to grow, it is facing some resistance in overseas markets.
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Among the drugs in the pipeline are a new blood clot preventer called Eliquis developed with Pfizer and dapagliflozin for type 2 diabetes — the FDA has delayed making a decision until January next year.
Still, its research, marketing and tax expenses gnawed away profits, which only rose 2 percent to $1 billion.
Specialty pharmaceuticals drove Celgene (NYSE:CELG) to a 34 percent increase in its net profit for the quarter to $373 million on net product sales of $1.2 billion.
Vidaza, a drug used to treat myelodysplastic syndromes, had a 35 percent increase in sales to $191 million. The drug lost market exclusivity in the United Sates, but continues to have it in Europe and Japan.
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The company also said it extended, by one year, a $20 million, three-year exclusivity deal with Agios Pharmaceuticals to develop cancer drugs that deal with cancer metabolism.
Celgene also strengthened and expanded the global reach of its hematology and oncology franchises and has 25 phase 3 and pivotal clinical trials, the company said in a conference call. In September, it initiated its first clinical study with its latest anti-cancer compound, the second new compound from its labs this year.
Sales of its myeloma drug Revlimid rose to $820 million and has about a 52 percent share of the multiple myeloma market in the U.S.
Full-year revenue is projected to be up to $4.85 billion.
“We have demonstrated our ability to deliver growth in the face of increasing price and reimbursement pressures, especially in Europe, as fundamental demand for our products remain sound,” Celgene CEO Robert Hugin said on the conference call.
