Sanofi lifts forecast as blockbuster asthma drug gains

Bloomberg: French drugmaker Sanofi raised its profit guidance as blockbuster therapy Dupixent expands its market share in the US and Europe.

Earnings per share, excluding some items, will grow by about 15% at constant currencies this year, the Paris-based company said on Thursday. That compares with an earlier forecast of low double-digit growth. Sanofi shares rose as much as 2.2% in Paris trading.

The French drugmaker is working to expand sales of Dupixent, an antibody treatment for ailments ranging from asthma to severe eczema, as well as bring more experimental drugs to the market.

The Dupixent effort means gaining regulatory clearance for more indications such as hives, as well as boosting the medicine’s presence in China.

The drug’s sales surged 43% last quarter to 1.96 billion euros ($2 billion), providing momentum for revenue even as Sanofi faced some setbacks on experimental drugs.

The breast cancer drug amcenestrant failed in a clinical test while U.S. regulators put a partial clinical hold on multiple sclerosis medicine tolebrutinib amid concern about liver injury.

A Covid vaccine that’s suffered delays should reach the market soon, though the chief executive officer of partner GSK Plc acknowledge that she has “limited expectations” for the product.

In the second half, Sanofi is hoping to present positive data from early-stage research on a flu vaccine that uses messenger-RNA, the technology that proved so successful in pandemic vaccines.

Profit excluding some items rose 25% to 1.73 euros a share last quarter, the company said, beating the 1.65-euro estimate from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Besides Dupixent, demand for vaccines rebounded as international travel picked up again.