(Reuters) – Drugmaker AbbVie Inc
The company had cautioned earlier against a potential hit to sales from Botox and other aesthetic products during the pandemic, as people avoided non-emergency procedures due to shelter-in-place restrictions imposed to control the virus.
The drugmaker bought Allergan in May for a hefty sum, acquiring its medical aesthetics business including Botox, hoping the segments would emerge as new growth drivers before AbbVie’s arthritis drug, Humira, loses U.S. patent in 2023.
Total Botox cosmetic comparable sales plunged 43.1% to $226 million and therapeutic sales fell 22.3% to $297 in the second quarter ended June 30, on a comparable basis.
International sales of Humira fell about 20% due to competition from cheaper versions.
Like several other drugmakers, AbbVie is also looking to develop a therapy for COVID-19 and collaborating with three organizations, including the Netherlands’ Utrecht University, to develop an antibody that targets the spike protein of the virus.
AbbVie forecast a combined company 2020 adjusted profit estimate, which includes the results of Allergan from May 8 through Dec. 31, of $10.35 to $10.45 per share, representing annualized net accretion from the Allergan deal of 11%.
Second-quarter net loss attributable to shareholders was $738 million, or 46 cents per share, compared with a profit of $741 million, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose about 26.3% to $10.43 billion.
(Reporting By Manojna Maddipatla and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
