Losses at Lundbeck have widened for the second quarter, hit by the effects of a 'pay-for-delay' fine from the European Commission, although its new products are performing well.
Operating loss came in at 506 million kroner (about $90.4 million) compared to a 118 million euro loss in the like, year-earlier period. The Danish drugmaker was fined 700 million kroner after the Commission said in June that Lundbeck paid companies to delay market entry for their generic versions of the antidepressant Cipralex (citalopram). The firm "strongly disagrees with the Commission’s decision" and intends to appeal.
Revenues rose 4% to 3.54 billion kroner and Cipralex also increased 4% to 1.51 billion kroner. However, Lexapro, the US version of the product sold by Forest Laboratories, sank 92% to just 15 million kroner.
The Alzheimer's disease drug Ebixa (memantine) fell 20% to 559 million kroner, due to generic competition in several markets in Europe,
while sales of Azilect (rasagiline) for Parkinson's disease increased 15% to 339 million kroner.
As for Lundbeck's newer products, Xenazine (tetrabenazine) for the treatment of chorea associated with Huntington's disease posted sales of 372 million kroner, up 34%, while epilepsy drug Sabril (vigabatrin) brought in 147 million kroner (+62%). Onfi (clobazam) for the treatment of Lennox Gastaut-syndrome climbed 111% to 114 million kroner.
Chief executive Ulf Wiinberg said he was pleased with Lundbeck’s overall results "and especially that our performance from new products continues to show a solid growth". The company has raised its sales and earnings estimates for the full year, a move which he says "confirms our strategy for Lundbeck in the long term is well on track".
Key to Lundbeck's future will be the antidepressant Brintellix (vortioxetine) and chief financial officer Anders Gotzsche told Bloomberg that the firm is already recruiting more than 200 reps in the USA ahead of approval. The drug, which will be co-promoted in the USA with Takeda, is widely expected to be a blockbuster.
