Revlimid sales drive higher-than-expected Bristol Myers results

Bristol Myers Squibb Co on Wednesday reported higher-than-expected second-quarter profit as a dropoff in sales of its blockbuster cancer drug Revlimid, which now faces generic competition, was not as steep as projected.

The company cut its full year sales forecast slightly to $46 billion due to the impact of the strong dollar from $46.39 billion. Bristol Myers reported second-quarter revenue of $11.89 billion, up from $11.7 billion a year ago. Analysts had expected $11.4 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Sales of Revlimid were $2.5 billion in the quarter, compared with analyst estimates of around $2.1 billion. Still, Bristol Myers Chief Financial Officer David Elkins said in an interview that multiple new generic competitors to Revlimid will enter the market in the third quarter and the company is not raising its full-year sales projections for the drug.

Sales of blood thinner Eliquis, which Bristol shares with Pfizer and the cancer immunotherapy Opdivo were basically in line with analyst estimates at $3.2 billion and $2.1 billion, respectively. The company said earnings in the quarter rose to $4.2 billion, or $1.93 a share, excluding certain items. That compares with $3.7 billion, or $1.63 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts had projected earnings per share of $1.80.

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