Ipsen's H1 Sales Up 6.3% Driven by Speciality Products

French pharmaceutical company Ipsen has reported a 2.2% year-on-year (y/y) increase in its revenues for the first half of the year, to 585.7 million euro (US$743.5 million). Drug sales were up by 6.3% y/y over the period to 553.9 million euro, driven by pharmaceutical sales, which stood at 537.8 (up 6.7%), while drug-related revenues declined 6.5% y/y to 16.5 million euro. On the expenses side, the company registered a 7.2 y/y increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses, while research and development (R&D) costs increased by 8.3% y/y, with the cost of goods sold increasing by 6.3% y/y. Operating income as calculated by IHS Global Insight in turn declined by 13.9% y/y to 116.6 million euro, with net income also reported to be down by 23.7% y/y, to 75.6 million euro.

Taking a closer look at Ipsen's performance in the various regions, it is clear to see that the company's presence in the North American market is slowly gaining momentum, with sales growth of 33.7%, and sales reaching 27.5 million euro, while sales growth in the rest of the world remained strong, up 11.4% y/y. Meanwhile, sales in the major Western European markets remained flat at 283.4 million euro, with the United Kingdom and France actually reporting a low single-digit decline. However, this was mitigated by minor sales growth in markets such as Spain, Italy, and Germany. The flat Western European sales have been attributed to competitive market conditions, especially in the French primary-healthcare market. In other European markets, sales were up 12.6% y/y, to 128.9 million euro.

Pharmaceutical product sales continue to receive a boost from strong sales of Ipsen's speciality care products, which were up 15.6% y/y, with double-digit growth being reported across all therapeutic areas. Metastatic prostate cancer drug Decapeptyl (triptorelin embonate) maintained its status as Ipsen's top-selling product, with revenues up 11.3% y/y to 140.8 million euro, thanks to strong sales in China and France, following the launch of the six-month sustained-release formulation of the drug in the latter. The endocrinology franchise generated sales of 120.1 million euro, a 21.7% y/y increase, with sales of Somatuline (lanreotide), NutropinAq (somatropin (rDNA origin) injection) and Increlex (mecasermin) up by 22.2%, 23.5%, and 24.4% y/y, respectively. In neurology, sales were up 15.1% y/y to 91.3 million euro, driven by Dysport (botulinum toxin type-A), which reported sales of 88.2 million, up 15.9% y/y.

Within the primary-care product portfolio, sales were down by 6.9% y/y to 185.6 million euro. The cardiovascular portfolio was the only therapeutic area to reports sales growth, up 4.6% y/y to 40 million euro, with the gastroenterology and cognitive disorder franchises reporting sales declines of 8.9% y/y and 13.7% y/y, respectively. Sales of gastroenterology product Smecta (diosmectite) were down 3.4% y/y due to lower sales in France and China. Forlax continues to suffer the effects of generic competition in France, with sales down 22.9% y/y as a result.

Outlook and Implications