AstraZeneca has announced that it will raise its full-year 2021 guidance to reflect a boost to its portfolio following the successful acquisition of rare disease company Alexion in the second quarter (Q2).
Total revenue was up by 31% to $8.2bn and also increased by 24% to $15.2bn for the half year. In Q2, revenue increased by 17% to $7.3bn when excluding COVID-19 vaccine sales.
Sales of its COVID-19 vaccine – sold under the Vaxzevria brand name in Europe – reached $894m in Q2, up from Q1 sales of $275m.
Product sales also increased in the quarter to $8.045bn, with oncology sales up by 41% to $3.3bn.
AZ saw strong sales on a number of key products, including lung cancer therapy Tagrisso, PARP inhibitor Lynparza, as well as a boost to its CVRM portfolio including its diabetes medication Farxiga.
Meanwhile, Q2 net profit was down by 25% from the previous year, coming in at $550m for the quarter.
Looking ahead to its full-year results, however, AZ is expecting a significant boost from products it has gained as part of the Alexion acquisition.
The deal means AZ will immediately gain assets within Alexion’s commercial portfolio, estimated to be worth around $6bn. This includes the company’s complement component 5 (C5) inhibitors Soliris (eculizumab) and Ultomiris (ravulizumab), which are already available in the US and EU.
Now, AZ is forecasting total revenue to increase by a percentage in the low twenties, up from previous guidance of an increase of a percentage in the low teens.
Core EPS is also expected to increase to $5.05 to $5.40, compared to the previous range of $4.75 to $5.00.
“AstraZeneca has delivered another period of strong growth thanks to robust performances across all regions and disease areas, particularly oncology, new CVRM and Fasenra in respiratory. As a result, we have delivered further earnings progression, supported ongoing launches, and continued our investment in R&D,” said Pascal Soriot, chief executive officer of AZ.
Alexion will enable us to enhance our pipeline, extending the company’s presence in rare diseases and immunology with its complement biology. Following the successful acquisition of Alexion, we are today updating our full-year 2021 guidance – our long-term goals to accelerate scientific discovery, invest for sustainable growth and deliver more benefits for patients remains unchanged,” he aded,