Shire says 2nd-qtr 2010 revenues rose 35% and EPS leapt 71%; updates on Firazyr; Movetis' Resolor cleared in Switzerland

UK specialty drugmaker Shire, which has moved its headquarters to Ireland for tax reasons, posted rocketing earnings and revenues for the second quarter of 2010, with total revenues up 35% at $849 million, product sales growing 37% to $764 million, non-GAAP operating income leaping 134% to £270 million and non-GAAP diluted earnings per American Depositary Receipt rising 71% to $1.03 compared with the like 2009 period.

In the USA, GAAP operating income rocketed a massive 547% to $224 million but, while the figures well and truly beat beat forecasts, Shire's shares fell 3% to £14.29 at close of trading yesterday. Impacting the stock was a lack of pipeline news, said the Financial Times, as well as the fact that the company had withdrawn the US approval application for its Fabry disease drug Replagal (agalsidase alfa) because it wanted to update the submission with newer data. The newspaper quoted Bernstein analyst Jack Scannell as saying 'people might be worried the delay is something more than commercial.'

However, Angus Russell, chief executive, was upbeat, commenting: "This was another excellent quarter with strong performance from core product sales, up 39%, driving increases in operating income and earnings per ADS. Shire is performing well on all fronts.'