AstraZeneca patent expiration forecasts earnings drop

AstraZeneca’s patent on its anti-cholesterol drug, Crestor, is due to expire in May this year and with that expiration could come a drop in the company’s profits

This warning comes as AstraZeneca’s full report for 2015 displayed Crestor sales, of £3.4bn ($5bn), were considerably more than any other of the company’s drugs.

As the patent for Crestor, an anti-cholesterol drug, will be lost to the company in May, the Manchester Evening News reported that cheaper, generic versions of the drug will come onto market and that the company’s profits could drop.

The report also showed that AstraZeneca’s revenues for 2015 declined 7% to £16.8bn ($24.7bn), while pre-tax profits came in at £2.09bn ($3.07bn), which was down 1% from the previous year.

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca, said: “We delivered a strong pipeline and financial performance in 2015 as we begin the next phase in our strategic journey.

“The Growth Platforms delivered an 11% rise in Product Sales that, along with the 7% increase in Core EPS, demonstrated the underlying strength of our business.

“Our culture of innovation continued to drive R&D productivity, with six regulatory approvals in the year. This momentum will continue in 2016 as we anticipate six regulatory submissions and around ten major data readouts.

“We strengthened the strategic importance of Oncology, bringing to patients next-generation therapies such as Tagrisso in lung cancer and Lynparza in ovarian cancer, as well as a promising immuno-oncology pipeline.

“Alongside this organic progress, we also continued to invest in our main therapy areas through key agreements with Acerta Pharma, ZS Pharma, and Takeda.

“As we face the transitional period of patent expiry for Crestor in the US, we’re confident that our strong execution on strategy, combined with the benefits of focused investments and new launches, keeps us on track to return to sustainable growth in line with our targets.”