GSK raised its outlook for a second time and expressed optimism about next year, buoyed by demand for existing vaccines and a newcomer for a common respiratory virus.
Operating profit excluding some costs could rise as much as 17 per cent and sales growth may be as high as 10 per cent this year, the UK drugmaker said on Wednesday, up from prior expectations of 15 per cent and 8 per cent. GSK also boosted its forecast the last time it reported quarterly earnings.
The upgrade comes as the maker of the blockbuster shingles vaccine Shingrix submits its new shot, designed to protect against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, to regulators.
The US Food and Drug Administration granted the vaccine priority review amid concern about an epidemic unfolding this fall and winter. GSK is racing against Pfizer to bring to market the first vaccine for RSV.
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Demand for Shingrix helped the British pharma firm report £7.8 billion (€9.1 billion) in revenue and 46.9 pence in earnings per share, excluding some costs, in the third quarter. The stock rose as much as 2 per cent in London.
The momentum will likely continue into the current quarter with strong sales and faster research spending, GSK said. The company is focused on replenishing its pharmaceutical pipeline after spinning off its Haleon consumer-health unit.
“We are again raising our full-year guidance and expect good momentum in 2023,” chief executive Emma Walmsley said, citing expectations for both Shingrix and the RSV shot. Shingrix will likely show double-digit growth and record annual sales in 2022, according to GSK.
Pfizer on Tuesday said a large trial showed that its own experimental vaccine protected babies against RSV when their pregnant mothers received it before giving birth.
Separately, Walmsley vowed to “vigorously defend” the company’s position that the heartburn drug Zantac doesn’t cause cancer. “There is no reliable evidence on any causation,” she said in a media briefing.
GSK, along with other drugmakers including Pfizer and Sanofi, face lawsuits from patients alleging Zantac – which they all sold – caused some types of cancer after years of use. The drugmakers could potentially face billions of dollars of liabilities.
Originally developed by GSK in the 1980s, Zantac is the industry’s first blockbuster. – Bloomberg
