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(Reuters) -Amgen Inc on Thursday reported lower first-quarter profit as expenses rose and a 2% increase in sales of its own drugs was offset by lower revenue from its deal to manufacture COVID-19 antibody treatments for Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Co.
Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) reported revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter, down 2% from a year earlier, but close to analysts’ estimates of $6.17 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
Product sales by volume grew 14% from a year earlier, but net selling prices fell 5%, while foreign exchange rates and other factors also limited sales revenue gains, Amgen said.
Adjusted earnings per share decreased to $3.98 from $4.25 a year ago, but came in ahead of analysts’ forecast of $3.85.
Amgen is seeing prescription trends return to prepandemic levels and “demand for medicines is resilient despite current macroeconomic challenges,” Amgen Chief Executive Robert Bradway said on a conference call with investors.
Amgen shares, which rose by less than 1% in regular trading, were down 2.7% at $233.89 after hours.
The company said sales of cholesterol drug Repatha rose 18% from a year earlier to a record $388 million, while sales of migraine drug Aimovig fell 32%, driven by lower prices.
Sales of psoriasis drug Otezla fell 13% due to lower inventory levels and prices. Amgen said it expects further price pressure through 2023.
Operating expenses for the quarter increased 6%, research and development costs rose 12% and Amgen said its tax rate rose 5.6 percentage points, primarily due to a Puerto Rico tax law change.
The California-based biotechnology company slightly increased its forecast for full-year 2023 revenue to range of $26.2 billion to $27.3 billion, from the previous view of $26 billion to $27.2 billion, excluding the impact of its pending acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HZNP) Plc.
Analysts estimate $26.7 billion in revenue for the full year.
Amgen said it still expects the Horizon deal to close in the first half of this year.
“The Horizon deal is still a focus to get back to growth and offset headwinds on older products,” Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said in a research note.
In December, Amgen agreed to buy Horizon for $27.8 billion, fortifying its rare diseases portfolio with the access to blockbuster thyroid eye disease treatment Tepezza.
