Amgen raised its annual earnings and profit forecast this Thursday after finalizing the $13.4 billion acquisition of Celgene’s Otezla psoriasis treatment. The US biotech giant saw its shares reach new high after the news. In addition, Bristol-Myers Squibb (+0.78%) completed yesterday the acquisition of Celgene Group. In this context, BMS accepted the divestiture of this blockbuster psoriasis drug. Amgen now expects a 2019 adjusted earnings per share ranging from $14.50 to $14.70, compared to an earlier range of $14.20-14.45. Annual revenues are now forecast between 23.1 and 23.3 billion.
“As the prevalence of chronic inflammatory diseases increases worldwide, Otezla represents a unique opportunity to further Amgen’s mission of bringing innovative medicines to patients, while building on our long-standing expertise in inflammation,” said Robert A. Bradway, chairman and chief executive officer at Amgen. “We look forward to working with the dedicated professionals joining us from Celgene to help realize the global potential of Otezla as an important option for patients.”
Sanofi marked new high on Thursday, boosted by new market noise. The pharmaceutical giant would evaluate various options for its consumer health business that could be worth $30 billion. According to Bloomberg sources, the management met with its financial advisors to assess the interest of its shareholders for such an operation. No final decision has been made but it is clear that the group should return to this information when presenting the new strategic plan of the company scheduled for December 10 in the United States.
A division or merger of the activity with that of another player in the sector is mentioned. Sanofi’s consumer health division generated revenues of more than $5 billion last year. Under the leadership of new General Manager Paul Hudson, Sanofi is currently conducting a thorough review of all of its activities. The former CEO of Novartis and AstraZeneca also questions the future of its Diabetes business, as well as the priorities to be given to its product pipeline and acquisition plans. Several big names in the pharmaceutical industry have already launched a major review of their general public branch, such as Bayer, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline.
