(Reuters) – Vertex Pharmaceuticals raised its full-year sales forecast on Tuesday, banking on strong demand for its cystic fibrosis (CF) treatment.
The company now sees full-year sales from its CF treatments to be between $9.7 billion and $9.8 billion, from a prior forecast of $9.55 billion to $9.7 billion. This compares with $9.75 billion as estimated by analysts.
The drugmaker recorded total sales of $2.49 billion in the second quarter, a 14% rise from a year earlier. This was above analysts’ estimate of $2.42 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
The beat was driven by strong uptake of its top-selling drug Trikafta, which recorded sales of $2.24 billion in the quarter, beating analysts’ estimate of $2.16 billion.
Trifakta is meant to treat cystic fibrosis, an inherited disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs, digestive system and other organs.
The company’s one-dose gene-editing therapy for sickle cell disease, which it is manufacturing with CRISPR Therapeutics AG, is currently under review by the U.S. Health and Drug Administration. The regulator is set to make its decision known by Dec. 8 this year.
The two companies are hoping to get approval for the world’s first therapy based on the Nobel Prize-winning CRISPR technology, for two types of blood disorder – sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.
Vertex is also developing another drug, VX-548, as a treatment for acute pain and neuropathic pain, which could bring in potential sales of more than $5 billion.
Excluding items, the company made a profit of $3.89 per share, while analysts’ estimated $3.88 per share.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
