Evercore Breaks Down Regeneron's Q2 Report

Shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc REGN were up more than 5 percent on Tuesday after the company reported earnings of $2.89 per share on revenue of $998.62 million. The second-quarter results surpassed the Street’s consensus estimates, which called for EPS of $2.68 on sales of $890.91 million.

After the conference call, Evercore ISI’s Mark Schoenebaum sent an email to investors, sharing a few highlights from the company’s second quarter.

• The company expects an "initial gradual uptake" of sales at the launch of Praluent, “as payer negotiations and reimbursement decisions will take several months and REGN plans to sample and provide free product in the interim." He adds that there may be a delay of up to six months for Medicare part B. At first, IMS data will be unreliable, but this will improve over time.
• The bulk of Eylea growth is driven by “market expansion in DME due to Protocol T, as well as market share gains from Lucentis and Avastin (from switches and new patient starts).”
• A pivotal phase 3 trial for REGN2222 (anti RSV antibody) is enrolling patients in the Southern Hemisphere. The second pivotal phase 3 trial will commence in the Northern Hemisphere in late-2015. The company said it is exploring less frequent dosing (than Synagis) and has ground to believe it "might work."
• Regeneron thinks PD-1 should have larger efficacy than PD-L1. However, some patients may tolerate PD-L1 better due to the potential toxicity of PD-L2 inhibition. In addition, the company did not provide much color on its own I/O assets.
• Finally, management lowered SG&A guidance. However, this does not reflect changes in the Praluent launch expenses. In fact, Sanofi SA (ADR) SNY is incurring more of those expenses than Regeneron.