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Regeneron Up after Raising Eye Drug Sales Outlook

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Shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) are rallying over 10% in morning trade after the company raised projections for it’s eye drug Eylea above analyst forecasts. Eylea, which treats a blindness-causing eye disorder, may generate $250 million to $300 million in U.S. sales this year, the company said. This exceeded analyst sales estimates for the drug of $160 million.

Separately the company also reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $53.4 million, or 58 cents per share, on $123 million in revenue.

“2011 was a milestone year for Regeneron led by the approval and launch of EYLEA for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration in the United States,” said Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Regeneron.  “The EYLEA launch is off to a strong start, with net sales of $24.8 million from launch on November 21 through December 31, 2011.  We look to continue to build on this success through 2012, and we now forecast 2012 U.S. EYLEA net product sales of $250 million to $300 million.”


“In 2011, we also submitted supplemental Biologics License Applications (sBLA) to the FDA for EYLEA for the treatment of central retinal vein occlusion and for ARCALYST® for the prevention of gout flares in patients initiating uric acid-lowering therapies,” said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer, and President, Regeneron Research Laboratories. “Regulatory actions on these sBLAs, as well as on a recently submitted BLA for ZALTRAP® for patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer, are expected during 2012″.

The new forecast might still be “quite conservative,” Joshua Schimmer, an analyst with Leerink Swann & Co. in New York, said in a note to clients. “Investors who see Regeneron as an ‘expensive’ stock on a multiple basis may no longer feel that way once Street consensus finishes moving upward.”

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.


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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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