Cialis big boost for ICOS, partner
The Bothell biotech's joint venture with Eli Lilly & Co. earned $65 million in first-quarter profit.
By Eric Fetters
Herald Writer
BOTHELL - The joint venture that sells Cialis achieved a first-quarter profit of $65 million as sales of the erectile dysfunction drug started the new year strong.
ICOS Corp. of Bothell and its pharmaceutical partner, Eli Lilly & Co., also said Cialis now leads Viagra and other rivals in 11 countries around the world.
"We're continuing to gain share in numerous markets," said ICOS spokeswoman Lacy Fitzpatrick, who noted that Cialis led the market in just five countries at this time last year.
The $65 million quarterly profit compared to a loss in the same period last year of $41.7 million. It also exceeded the Lilly-ICOS joint venture's profit for all of 2005, which was $37.8 million.
The profit was helped, in part, by a decrease in expenses for sales and administration for Lilly-ICOS. Those totaled $113 million in the first quarter, compared to $160.6 in the same quarter last year.
Paul Latta, an analyst with Seattle's McAdams Wright Ragen, had expected the quarter to produce a profit of less than $35 million. He admitted that the profit news and worldwide Cialis sales of $222.7 million both pleasantly surprised him.
The first-quarter sales figure was 48 percent higher than that of 2005's first quarter, when the joint venture sold $150 million of the drug. In the U.S. alone, Cialis sales reached $82.5 million, 93 percent higher than the same period last year.
If the quarter's sales pace continues, Lilly-ICOS could easily achieve its forecasted sales of at least $860 million in 2006. Latta revised his own sales forecast for the year upward to $900 million.
Fitzpatrick added that, late in February, Lilly-ICOS raised its suggested retail price for Cialis, with many retailers now selling a dose for about $11. That's higher than the price for Viagra and Levitra, but Cialis' effectiveness also lasts significantly longer.
As of March, according to IMS Health, about 26 percent of all new prescriptions written for erectile dysfunction drugs were for Cialis. About 55 percent were written for Viagra, and Levitra accounted for more than 17 percent.
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