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Shire’s (LSE:SHP) share price jumped by 45.0 points and 0.85% to 5,335.0 today after announcing that it had handily beaten earnings expectations for the first quarter ended 31 March 2015. The average analyst earnings estimate for Shire in the first quarter was $604 million (£393 million). If $604 was the outfield wall, Shire hit a home run of nearly epic proportions, reported $683 million (£444 million), exceeding estimates by a whopping 16%.
Total sales revenue increased to $1.4 billion, 9% beyond Q1 2014. Total revenue from all sources was up by 11% to $1.49 billion. The report credited strong sales of VYVANSE®, CINRYZE®, FIRAZYR® and LIALDA®/MEZAVANT® for driving the overall sales increase.
CEO Dr. Fleming Ornskov said that “Our continued financial performance driven by the strength of our commercial operations, focus on efficiency, and breadth of our innovative pipeline are indicators of our bright future. We remain confident in delivering Non GAAP diluted earnings per ADS growth in the mid-single digits in 2015.”
Looking forward the company noted that its products ADDERALL XR and INTUNIV are now subject to competition from generic versions. In balance, however, the company indicates that its pipeline has never been quite as robust as it is currently, including:
- 26 research programs underway
- 7 drugs in pre-clinical testing
- 7 more in phase-one testing
- 12 drugs in phase-two testing
- 8 in phase-three testing
- 2 in registration
Q1 Accomplishments
In the first quarter alone Shire has
- Acquired NPS Pharma, which accounts for one of the new drugs (NATPAR) in Registrations in the EU, and the addition of SHP635 in the Phase 2 group.
- Acquired Meritage, which accounts for SHP636 (formerly Oral Budesonide Suspension) moving into the Phase 3 group.
- Filed for a medical treatment for dry eye disease
- Received approval for VYVANSE BED for adults.
Shire provides treatments in the areas of Neuroscience, Rare Diseases, Gastrointestinal, and Internal Medicine. This might include a therapy to treat an extremely rare and life-threatening disease like Hunter syndrome or Fabry disease; or a medicine for a specialist condition like ADHD or ulcerative colitis, which if not treated effectively, can dramatically affect the lives of the patient and their whole family. Shire has a portfolio of specialist therapies, and has products available in 50 countries around the world.
At 5.335.00 Shire is only about 400 points shy of it’s 52-week and all-time high of 5,755.00, which it reached earlier this year. Shire’s share price intraday high was 5,510.00.
New CFO
In a separate release, Shire announced that Jeff Poulton has been appointed to the position of CFO and has been given a seat on the board. According to the announcement, “Jeff’s experience at Shire includes leading the Global Rare Diseases business unit, and overseeing the integration of Viropharma’s rare diseases products into the Shire portfolio.”
