Regeneron beats profit estimates as easing curbs lift eye drug sales

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc surged past analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Thursday, as easing lockdowns allowed patients to resume visits to the doctor's offices and boosted sales of its eye drug. The company, whose COVID-19 antibody treatment President Donald Trump received during his illness early last month, said it had shared positive data on the experimental therapy with global regulators.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc surged past analysts' estimates for quarterly profit on Thursday, as easing lockdowns allowed patients to resume visits to the doctor's offices and boosted sales of its eye drug.

The company, whose COVID-19 antibody treatment President Donald Trump received during his illness early last month, said it had shared positive data on the experimental therapy with global regulators. It is waiting for U.S. emergency use nod for the treatment. Sales of Eylea, its blockbuster eye treatment, rose to $2.10 billion in the third quarter, topping estimates of $1.75 billion, according to four analysts polled by Refinitiv.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month approved Regeneron's triple antibody cocktail as the first Ebola virus treatment. That approval underscores "the potential of antibody therapies to address deadly infectious diseases," Chief Executive Officer Leonard Schleifer said in a statement.

Treatments and vaccines are increasingly looked at as essential in ending the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed over a million people worldwide. Sales of Dupixent, used to treat eczema and asthma, surged 69.4% to $1.07 billion, inching past estimates of $1.06 billion.

Shares of the company were up 1.7% to $597 before the opening bell. Net profit rose to $842.1 million, or $7.39 per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, from $669.6 million, or $5.86 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, Regeneron earned $8.36 per share, beating estimates of $7.14. Total revenue rose 31.6% to $2.29 billion, also beating estimates of $2.09 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.