(Reuters) – Viatris Inc beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue on Monday, on the strength of its branded drug portfolio, sending its shares up 2% in premarket trading.
The drugmaker said it will announce at least one planned divestiture in the third quarter as it seeks to sell its consumer health assets in Europe among other divestment of its non-core businesses.
The move comes in efforts to streamline its focus on three core therapeutic areas of ophthalmology, gastrointestinal and dermatology as part of its long-term strategy.
Its second-quarter revenue of $3.91 billion beat analysts’ estimates of $3.87 billion, according to Refinitiv.
Revenue from its newly launched products came in at $124 million, largely driven by strong demand for its cancer drug lenalidomide in the U.S.
The company said it remains on track to achieve about $500 million in new product revenue in 2023.
Viatris also reaffirmed its full-revenue revenue forecast to the range of $15.5 billion to $16 billion, compared to analysts’ estimates of $15.60 billion.
Excluding items, the company reported a profit of 22 cents for the quarter.
Viatris was formed through the merger of Mylan and Pfizer Inc’s Upjohn business and deals with generic and key branded drugs in its portfolio, including arthritis treatment Celebrex, erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, epilepsy treatment Lyrica, and antidepressant Zoloft.
Separately, Viatris and partner Mapi Pharma Ltd said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted the companies’ marketing application for their once-monthly injection for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. The health regulator will make its decision by March 8, 2024.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)
