Melville, N.Y., Pharmaceutical Company Reduces Sales Expectations
Posted on: Friday, 13 January 2006, 00:00 CST
By Kathleen Kerr, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.
Jan. 12--Ahead of its quarterly report, OSI Pharmaceuticals of Melville yesterday narrowed sales expectations for its Macugen vision loss drug.
OSI said 2005 year-end sales of Macugen were expected to be between $183 million and $185 million, a change from its previous guidance of $175 million to $190 million.
Macugen, an injectable drug, treats macular degeneration, a major cause of blindness in older people.
To the consternation of Wall Street, late in 2005, OSI acquired Eyetech Pharmaceuticals of Manhattan, which then owned Macugen.
Analysts questioned the Eyetech acquisition because Macugen faces tough competition from Lucentis, another macular degeneration drug, which is made by California-based Genentech. Genentech recently said it had filed for Food and Drug Administration approval for Lucentis; the agency could act by the end of this year.
OSI also reported yesterday that fourth-quarter sales of its lung cancer drug, Tarceva, were $83.9 million, a 15-percent increase over the third quarter. Total annual sales for Tarceva were $274.9 million; the drug was approved by the FDA in November 2004.
OSI and Genentech, one of the largest biotechnology companies, are partners in marketing Tarceva.
Tarceva also has been approved by the FDA for use in pancreatic cancer.
OSI spokeswoman Kathy Galante said the company released its guidance yesterday because Genentech had already made statements concerning Tarceva and Lucentis. Galante said OSI's regular quarterly report would come at the end of February.
OSI's embattled stock dropped 3.28 percent yesterday, closing at $28.01, down from $75 at the end of 2004.
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OSIP, DNA,
Source: Newsday, Melville, N.Y.
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