By Sriparna Roy
(Reuters) -Regeneron Pharmaceuticals on Thursday said it is seeing strong initial demand for its recently launched higher-dose version for eye drug Eylea.
The launch should potentially bring the treatment back to growth, according to analysts. Eylea has missed Wall Street sales expectations so far this year, partly due to competition from Roche's Vabysmo since the rival secured U.S. approval last year.
Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN) in a post-earnings call said physicians are prescribing the higher-dose version in patients who are switching from rival drugs and those who are new to the medicine.
"In terms of the switches, it's early days. We are seeing switches from (regular dose) Eylea, as you would expect ... the early reports have been quite encouraging," said company executive Marion McCourt, adding there have been switches from other products as well.
Eylea's sales for the third quarter fell 11% to $1.49 billion, which included $43 million sales from the higher dose, or 8 milligram dose that was launched in the United States in August.
With the launch, this could be the last quarter where Vabysmo hits Eylea sales, said Wells Fargo analyst Mohit Bansal.
Bansal was expecting $40 million in sales for the higher dose of the drug in the current quarter and $133 million in 2023.
Regeneron shares rose 4.6% after the company beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit.
The profit beat was driven by strong demand for its eczema treatment, Dupixent, which rose 33% to $3.10 billion, as recorded by its partner Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY).
On an adjusted basis, Regeneron earned $11.59 per share for the quarter, above analysts' estimates of $10.72, according to LSEG data.
The company's total revenue of $3.36 billion beat expectations of $3.23 billion.