Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) stock fell 1.65% (As on November 4, 10:11:55 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company 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. The 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 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.
On the other hand, 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.” 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.
VRTX in the third quarter of FY25 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $4.8, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $4.55, according to the the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 11 percent to $3.08 billion in the third quarter of FY25, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue by 1.14%. That was driven in large part by an increase in sales for its cystic fibrosis treatment, Trikafta.
The Boston-based company 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.