BIG PHARMA EARNINGS WATCH: MERCK, SANOFI, BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB, ABBVIE AND ASTRAZENECA

May 3, 2023

More Big Pharma Giants Surpass Wall Street Expectations, Buoyed By Egregious Price Hikes on Blockbuster Products to Start the Year

Another round of first-quarter earnings reports from Merck, Sanofi, Bristol Myers Squibb, AbbVie and AstraZeneca demonstrate that Big Pharma continues to surpass Wall Street’s expectations. All five Big Pharma giants topped Wall Street analysts’ earnings estimates for the first quarter of 2023 and reported strong profits after hiking prices on brand-name prescription drugs in their portfolios to start the year.

Merck

Merck topped analysts’ earnings and sales expectations, bringing in $14.5 billion in sales for the quarter and earnings of $2.82 billion.
The pharmaceutical company projects full-year 2023 sales to reach between $57.7 billion and $58.9 billion.
The strong earnings were buoyed by the performance of Merck’s blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, which brought in $5.8 billion in the quarter, up 20 percent year over year.
After the successful earnings call, Merck raised its guidance for the full 2023 fiscal year.

Sanofi

Sanofi reported better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter, beating Wall Street analysts’ earnings expectations.
The Big Pharma company reported revenue of $11.60 billion in Q1, driven by the blockbuster anti-inflammatory eczema and asthma drug Dupixent.
Revenue from Dupixent surged more than 43 percent to $2.6 billion, above consensus estimates.
The drug maker expects 2023 adjusted earnings per share to grow in 2023.

Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb topped Wall Street earnings estimates.
The drug maker reported first-quarter profit of $2.26 billion.
Over the last year, the company has surpassed consensus earnings estimates every quarter.
Sales of Bristol Myers Squibb’s cancer immunotherapy Opdivo rose 15 percent to $2.2 billion.

AbbVie

AbbVie reported first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street analysts’ forecasts.
Over the last year, the company has surpassed consensus earnings estimates every quarter.
AbbVie posted revenues of $12.23 billion for Q1.
AbbVie’s blockbuster arthritis drug Humira, notched the top spot for the world’s best-selling drug for a tenth straight year in 2022, reporting sales of $21.2 billion.
In the first quarter, sales of immunology treatment Skyrizi surged almost 45 percent to $1.36 billion.
Sales of immunology treatment Rinvoq increased nearly 48 percent to $686 million.

AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca topped Wall Street analysts’ earnings forecasts in the first quarter.
AstraZeneca reported first-quarter profit of $1.8 billion and revenue of $10.88 billion.
The company’s earnings beat was driven by strong performance from cancer drugs Tagrisso and Imfinzi.

The strong earnings calls come as all five drug makers have leveled significant price hikes already this year, and several have a history of engaging in anti-competitive tactics.

Merck

Merck started 2023 by raising prices on more than 20 prescription drugs, including blockbuster diabetes medicines Januvia and Janumet by 4.9 percent each.
Merck’s blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda is on track to become “the highest-selling drug in the world and would be a Fortune 200 company on its own.”
In December, Merck announced plans to seek new patents on Keytruda to expand its existing patent thicket on the drug and further extend its monopoly power by blocking competition.
Merck hiked prices on nearly 30prescription drugs in 2022, including five percent increases on blockbuster diabetes medicines Januvia and Janumet.
Merck increased prices 20 times in 2021 by an average of five percent.
The brand name company also raised the price of HIV therapy treatment Isentress by almost five percent in 2021.

Sanofi

Sanofi has hiked prices on 35 prescription drugs so far in 2023, including blockbuster drug Dupixent by six percent.
Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson announced he intends to achieve sales of nearly $11 billion for Dupixent in 2023.
Sanofi hiked prices on more than 40 prescription drugs in January 2022 – and engaged in an additional round of price hikes last July.
Sanofi hiked prices on multiple sclerosis drug Aubagio and rheumatoid arthritis drug Kevzara by seven percent at the start of last year.
Sanofi is one of three Big Pharma companies that dominate the insulin market and worked in lockstep for decades to increase prices on the life-saving drug, through an egregious practice called “shadow pricing.”

Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb kicked off 2023 by raising prices on nearly 20 prescription drugs, including blockbuster blood thinner Eliquis by six percent.
Bristol Myers Squibb began 2022 by hiking prices on more than a dozen prescription drugs.
Price hikes last year were launched on two key cancer drugs, Opdivo and Revlimid, as well as blockbuster blood thinner drug Eliquis.
Bristol Myers Squibb hiked prices on at least ten medications to start 2021.
Later in the year, the company reported that research and development expenses decreased 30 percent while simultaneously approving $15 billion in new stock buybacks.

AbbVie

AbbVie has hiked prices on 44 prescription drugs so far in 2023.
This included eight percent increases each on the company’s blockbuster autoimmune drugs Humira and Skyrizi.
Humira’s price has almost doubled since 2012, from about $19,000 to $38,000.
AbbVie currently holds more than 130 patents on Humira in the United States that may help block competition for up to 39 years.

AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca has hiked prices on 22 prescription drugs so far in 2023.
The brand-name drug maker hiked prices on 27 medications in 2022, including on at least eight drugs last summer.
In 2021, AstraZeneca increased prices on 19 different drugs – including on hyperkalemia drug Lokelma and blockbuster drug Symbicort.

Read more on Q1 earnings from Johnson & Johnson HERE.

Stay tuned as we continue to monitor earnings calls from Big Pharma for Q1 of 2023 over the next few weeks.

Learn more about solutions to lower prescription drug prices and hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.