Bristol-Myers’ BMY blood thinner drug, Eliquis, has propelled the company’s top line in the past few quarters and the momentum has most likely continued in the second quarter. Eliquis is the leading oral anti-coagulant drug and the company continues to witness growth in both Eliquis brand and the market.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Eliquis revenues is pegged at $2.3 billion.
The acquisition of Celgene Corporation in November 2019 added multiple myeloma drug, Revlimid, to Bristol-Myers’ portfolio. Revlimid was the top revenue generator for the company in the previous quarter, registering double-digit growth, driven by a rise in demand due to increased market share and treatment duration.
Pomalyst too is likely to have boosted the top line in the second quarter on increasing demand for triplet therapies.
Sales of immuno-oncology drug, Opdivo, which is approved for multiple oncology indications, were soft in the first quarter. It remains to be seen how the drug has fared in the second quarter amid stiff competition from Merck’s MRK Keytruda and Roche’s RHHBY Tecentriq. Incremental sales from recent label expansions should boost performance. In March, Opdivo plus Yervoy was approved by the FDA to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients who have been previously treated with sorafenib. In February, Opdivo was approved in Japan for the treatment of patients with unresectable advanced or recurrent esophageal cancer that has progressed following chemotherapy. Incremental sales from these expansions are likely to have boosted sales in the to-be-reported quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Opdivo revenues stands at $1.7 billion.
However, on the last call, management stated that COVID-19 had affected patient access to oncology clinics and infusion centers, which could impact the volumes of infused products in the second quarter.
The last reported quarter saw continued stable demand for Sprycel in the United States and the same is likely to have continued in the quarter under review.
Apart from these top drugs, new drug approvals are likely to have resulted in incremental sales. In April, the FDA approved Reblozyl for the treatment of patients with anemia failing an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent and requiring two or more red blood cell (RBC) units over 8 weeks in adults with very low- to intermediate-risk MDS-RS or with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm with ring sideroblasts and thrombocytosis. In March, the FDA also approved Zeposia (ozanimod) for the treatment of adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (RMS), including clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease and active secondary progressive disease. The top line is likely to have got a boost from the incremental contributions of these two drugs, since this is the first full quarter post the approvals.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter sales and earnings is pegged at $10.1 billion and $1.43 per share, respectively.
The company’s shares have lost 7.9% in the year so far against the industry‘s growth of 3.6%.
Apart from these, investors will focus on further updates on the company’s pipeline progress. In May, the FDA approved the combination of Opdivo and Yervoy for the lucrative indication of first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), whose tumors express PD-L1 (≥1%) as determined by an FDA-approved test, with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations. Investors will be awaiting updates on the outlook as the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in supply-chain disruptions and affected demand for other drugs.
Zacks Rank & Another Stock to Consider
Bristol-Myers currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Another top player in the same space is BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. BMRN, which sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
BioMarin’s earnings per share estimates have risen from $1.51 to $1.57 for 2020 and from $2.47 to $2.80 for 2021 over the past 60 days.
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