One bright spot for sector.
Reuters Company News
IDEC says net income to rise on Rituxan sales
Wednesday October 9, 6:07 pm ET
(Adds after-hours activity, earnings report date, royalty figure)
SAN DIEGO, Oct 9 (Reuters) - IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NasdaqNM:IDPH - News) said on Wednesday it expects third-quarter earnings to rise, driven by sharply higher sales of its cancer drug Rituxan.
ADVERTISEMENT
The San Diego-based biotech company expects to post earnings of 22 cents a share, up from 16 cents in the same period a year ago.
Analysts expect the company to earn 21 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call.
IDEC said U.S. sales of Rituxan, which it co-markets with Genentech Inc. (NYSE:DNA - News), rose 31 percent to $269.5 million from $205 million. The drug is used to treat patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that attacks the immune system and affects an estimated 300,000 Americans.
IDEC's royalty revenue on sales of Rituximab outside the United States was $11.8 million in the third quarter, the company said.
Following the announcement of its third-quarter earnings forecast, IDEC shares rose sharply to $38.90 in after-hours trading on Instinet after closing at $36.42, down $1.18 or 3 percent, on Nasdaq.
In March, IDEC launched another lymphoma drug called Zevalin, which uses an antibody to deliver cancer-killing radiation directly to tumors. Its sales -- which have been hampered by a delay in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for the drug -- totaled $5 million for the quarter, IDEC said.
IDEC will report its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 16. |
