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

Big Pharma Continues Raking in Big Profits and Expectation-Beating Revenue Fueled by Egregious Pricing Practices and Anti-Competitive Tactics

This week, several Big Pharma companies held earnings calls for the first quarter of the year touting revenue and profits beating Wall Street expectations fueled by price hikes and anti-competitive practices, including Novartis, Sanofi, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, and AstraZeneca.

Novartis

• Novartis reported Q1 earnings and sales that topped Wall Street expectations.
• The Big Pharma company reported sales of $11.83 billion in the quarter, up 10 percent.
• Profit rose 25 percent in the quarter, to $2.69 billion.
• The company’s best-selling drug, heart treatment Entresto, brought in $1.33 billion for the quarter, up 25 percent.
• Novartis’ other blockbuster drug, Cosentyx, an arthritis treatment, was up 36 percent, bringing in $1.88 billion.
• The company’s new cancer drug Pluvicto brought in another $310 million for the company.
• The company’s performance in the quarter was so strong, in fact, that they raised their guidance for the year.

Merck

• Merck beat analysts’ earnings and revenue expectations.
• The Big Pharma giant reported first quarter revenue of $15.78 billion, up nine percent year over year.
• Merck’s pharmaceutical division performed strongly, bringing in $14.01 billion in revenue, up 10 percent.
• Blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda brought in $6.95 billion in revenue, up 20 percent year over year.
• Merck’s HPV vaccine Gardasil also performed strongly, bringing in an additional $2.25 billion in sales, up 14 percent.

AstraZeneca

• AstraZeneca also exceeded Wall Street expectations for the first quarter.
• The Big Pharma firm reported first quarter revenue of $12.68 billion.
• The company’s earnings beat was driven by strong performance from its oncology portfolio, which was up 26 percent in the quarter, delivering sales of $5.12 billion.
• Oncology drug Tagrisso brought in $1.6 billion, up 12 percent.
• Meanwhile, Enhertu, another oncology drug in AstraZeneca’s portfolio, brought in an additional $461 million.

Bristol Myers Squibb

• Bristol Myers Squibb reported revenue that beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations, driven by strong performance from blockbuster cancer drug Revlimid and blood thinning drug Eliquis.
• Revenue for the first quarter was $11.87 billion, up five percent year over year.
• Eliquis brought in $3.72 billion in sales for the company while Revlimid brought in $1.67 billion.
• Another blockbuster cancer drug, Opdivo, brought in another $2.07 billion for Bristol Myers Squibb.

Sanofi

• Sanofi reported better-than-expected sales and profit for the first quarter.
• The Big Pharma company reported sales of $11.67 billion and operating profit of $3.04 billion.
• Sanofi’s blockbuster eczema and asthma treatment Dupixent was one of the company’ strongest performers in the quarter, generating $3.08 billion.

The strong earnings reports for the Big Pharma companies follow numerous price hikes across the companies’ portfolios earlier this year.

Novartis

• Novartis increased prices on more than 60 prescription drugs in its portfolio so far this year, including arthritis treatment Cosentyx by seven percent and heart treatment Entresto by three percent.
• Novartis hiked prices on over 70 prescription medications in January last year, including breast cancer drug Kisqali by eight percent.
• The drug maker also increased prices on an additional 10 products last summer.
• Novartis began 2022 by hiking prices on more than 20 prescription drugs, including a seven percent increase on Kisqali.
• Novartis increased prices 20 times in January of 2021 and more than 30 times in 2020, including a seven percent hike on blockbuster psoriasis drug Cosentyx each year.

Merck

• Merck hiked prices on 21 prescription products in its portfolio in January 2024, including 20 which were higher than the 3.4 percent rate of inflation for December, the previous month.
• 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 2022, 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 30 prescription 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.

AstraZeneca

• AstraZeneca increased prices on at least 15 prescription drugs to start the year, including oncology drugs Tagrisso and Lynparza.
• AstraZeneca hiked prices on at least 25 prescription drugs in 2023, including best-selling oncology drugs Tagrisso by three percent and Lynparza by 6.8 percent.
• The brand-name drug maker hiked prices on 23 medications in 2022.
• In 2021, AstraZeneca increased prices on 20 different drugs – including on blockbuster asthma medicine Symbicort.

Bristol Myers Squibb

• Bristol Myers Squibb kicked off the year by increasing prices on more than 10 prescription drugs, including a six percent increase on Eliquis, and another four that were higher than the 3.4 percent rate of inflation for December, the previous month.
• 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 10 medications to start 2021.

Sanofi

• Sanofi started the year by increasing prices on at least 10 prescription drugs, including blockbuster drug Dupixent by six percent.
• Sanofi hiked prices on 24 prescription drugs 2023.
• Sanofi hiked prices on more than 15 prescription drugs in January 2022 – and engaged in an additional round of price hikes that summer.
• 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.”

Read about Johnson & Johnson’s Wall Street topping first quarter earnings HERE.

And stay tuned as we continue to monitor first quarter earnings calls from Big Pharma.