Generic competition for Lexapro/Cipralex hits Lundbeck's first-quarter

2 May 2012

Danish drugmaker Lundbeck (LUND: DC) yesterday posted a 33% plunge in first-quarter 2012 net profit to 620 million Danish kroner ($110.5 million), missing the forecasts of 658.9 million kroner from 10 analysts polled by Dow Jones. EBIT fell 32% to 882 million kroner, also shy of analysts' expectations of 895 million kroner, as the company faced generic competition for its flagship antidepressant Cipralex/Lexapro (escitalopram), which is sold by Forest Labs in the USA.

Excluding Lexapro revenue in the USA, Lundbeck reported first quarter sales of 3.44 billion kroner, a decline of 2%, while including Lexapro revenue was down 7.9% at 3.78 billion kroner, again below analysts’ forecasts of 3.87 billion kroner. Profits were affected by the increase in launch costs related to Lundbeck's newer products, as well as the loss of revenue from Lexapro due to generic competition.

Maintains full year forecasts

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