14th Feb 2019 08:57
LONDON (Alliance News) - Indivior PLC on Thursday said it doubled its profit in 2018 after a substantial cut to its expenses but is now facing the launch of a competitor to its Suboxone Film addiction treatment.
The pharmaceutical company's pretax profit for the year ended December 31 came in at USD278 million, twice its USD137 million profit the year before.
This was a the result of a significant drop in selling, general and administrative expenses to USD494 million from USD707 million in 2017.
Revenue fell to USD1.01 billion from USD1.09 billion due to a loss of market share for Suboxone Film, which averaged and exited 2018 at 53% versus an average of 59% in 2017. Revenue also was hit by an increase in government channels through Medicaid in the US.
On February 5, Indivior reported that a US court had rejected its motion for a rehearing of its case against Dr Reddy's Laboratories, which has developed a Suboxone Film generic. Indivior has appealed against the removal of an injunction against Dr Reddy's but this was rejected by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Then, on Monday this week, the appeals court denied Indivior's stay appeal on a previous ruling which vacated the injunction against Dr Reddy's. Indivior now intends to file a stay petition with the US Supreme Court.
Indivior has that said that the launch of a Suboxone Film generic could see its market share depleted by 80% in a matter of months.
Indivior said it could not provide 2019 guidance for net revenue or net income due to uncertainty in the US Suboxone market.
However, it expects net revenue from its other addition drug, Sublocade, to be between USD50 million and USD70 million in 2019. Operating expense guidance is for between USD440 million and USD460 million excluding exceptional items.
Indivior said it has implemented "key elements" of a contingency plan to provide for the commercial success of Sublocade and of its schizophrenia drug Perseris, while ensuring it has a USD250 million minimum cash balance to meet its debt.
The plan includes reducing the outstanding principal on its term loan, cash conservation, initiatives to cut expenses, and the launch of its own Suboxone generic.
"2018 brought a series of market challenges which resulted in Indivior delivering lower net revenue and only slightly higher adjusted net income compared to the prior year. As we enter 2019, we assume we face the imminent 'at-risk' launch of generic rivals to Suboxone Film in the US. We have prudently prepared for this event, planning and taking the required actions to help ensure we can deliver on our strategic priorities despite the near-term top-line pressures that generic competition to Suboxone Film will bring," said Indivior Chief Executive Shaun Thaxter.
Shares in Indivior were up 2.0% at 110.70 pence on Thursday morning.
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