Copyright The Boston Globe
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported third-quarter sales that beat analysts’ expectations as the biotech company’s mainstay cystic fibrosis treatment saw revenue growth, even as new drugs’ performances disappointed Wall Street. Vertex reported revenue of $3.08 billion, an 11 percent gain from one year ago. That was ahead of analysts’ forecasts and was driven in large part by an increase in sales for its cystic fibrosis treatment, Trikafta. The Boston-based company’s new non-opioid pain drug, Journavx, generated $19.6 million in sales in the quarter, below Wall Street estimates for $21 million. And Casgevy, the company’s gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, had $16.9 million in sales when analysts were expecting about $40 million. Vertex fell as much as 7.3 percent in postmarket trading before paring losses. Through Monday’s close the shares had gained 5.8 percent this year. Advertisement Vertex transformed cystic fibrosis from a debilitating lung disease to a manageable condition for many patients. Now, the company is trying to find success treating other conditions. A key part of that has been Journavx, which got US regulatory clearance in January and became the first new type of painkiller to reach the US market in more than two decades. Prescription growth for Journavx has slowed in recent weeks, according to Evan Seigerman, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets. The company has faced challenges in securing insurance coverage for the drug, which costs more than its alternative, opioids. In a note after Vertex’s results posted, Seigerman said it was “a tougher quarter,” as the cystic fibrosis performance “was enough to squeeze out a modest top-line beat but not enough to satisfy investors.” Advertisement And RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams wrote that while the core cystic fibrosis products remain solid and focus will likely shift to the promising kidney pipeline, the new drugs’ performances and higher spending “adds more pressure on next year’s readouts to succeed.” Vertex has also faced setbacks with developing other pain medicines. In early August, the company said its experimental drug failed a clinical trial to provide post-surgery benefits and US regulators didn’t see a path forward for broad use of its pill in treating a chronic pain condition. Casgevy gained US Food and Drug Administration clearance two years ago as the first approved treatment to use the Nobel-prize-winning technology Crispr. But sales of the drug have been modest so far, in part due to the inconvenient way the treatment is given. Vertex is also developing a treatment for Type 1 diabetes. The company said it had completed enrollment in a study of its drug, zimislecel, for the condition, but postponed dosing “pending an internal manufacturing analysis.” Vertex increased the lower end of its guidance by $50 million. The company now expects annual revenue of between $11.9 billion to $12 billion. Wall Street expected $12 billion this year. For now, the vast majority of Vertex’s business relies heavily on its cystic fibrosis franchise. Sales of Alyftrek, the company’s new treatment for cystic fibrosis, were $247 million in the quarter, just shy of analysts’ estimates of $252 million. Vertex is trying to convert patients from Trikafta to Alyftrek, which has more convenient dosing.
