Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCMP) reported adjusted earnings of 28 cents per share in the second quarter of 2017, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 cents. Reported earnings were also up 16.67% from the year-ago figure of 24 cents.
Total revenue came in at $59.9 million, up 15.2% from the year-ago quarter, and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $57.08 million, driven by higher Amitiza sales in Japan. Sucampo has a license, commercialization and supply agreement with Mylan N.V. (NASDAQ:MYL) for marketing Amitiza in Japan.
Sucampo’s share price has decreased 22.6% year to date, while the industry gained 1.7%.
The Quarter in Detail
Product sales were $34.2 million, up 20.4% year over year. Product royalty revenues were $20.56 million, up 9.7% year over year.
Sales of Amitiza, Sucampo's marketed product, as reported by Takeda Pharmaceutical for royalty calculation purposes, in the U.S. were $110.7 million, up 9%. Takeda holds the global marketing rights for Amitiza outside Japan and China and pays royalties to Sucampo. Total prescriptions for the product in the U.S. were down 4%. As reported by Mylan, Amitizia sales increased 27% to $18.6 million in Japan. Unit volume increased 24%.
The company’s operational expense (R&D and S&GA) increased 34% from the year-ago period to $32.1 million, which includes a milestone payment of $4.5 million to Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals and inclusion of research & development expense related to Vtesse.
Developments
In April, the company completed the acquisition of a privately-held rare disease company, Vtesse Inc., for an upfront payment of $200 million. The acquisition added a late stage orphan candidate, VTS-270, which is being evaluated in Niemann-Pick Disease Type C1 (NPC-1). Moreover, VTS-270 was granted a U.S. patent for its unique composition in the same month, strengthening its IP position.
Subsequent to the quarter in Jul 2017, the company filed a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) with the FDA for label expansion of Amitizia to include pediatric patients (10-17 year of age) suffering from functional constipation. The sNDA was filed based on supporting data and evident efficacy in this age group.
2017 Guidance Reiterated
Sucampo reiterated its guidance for full year 2017. The company expects total revenue in the range of $220 million to $230 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 is $234.85 million.
The company expects adjusted net income in the range of $56 million to $66 million, and adjusted earnings in the range of $1.00 to $1.10.
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Sucampo carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. A couple of better-ranked stocks in the pharma sector include Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ:AGEN) and Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA) . Both the stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Agenus’ loss estimates narrowed from $1.27 to $1.14 for 2017 over the last 30 days. The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 8.84%. Its share price has remained flat so far this year.
Arena Pharma’ loss per share estimates narrowed from $2.94 to $2.86 for 2017 over the last 30 days. The company delivered positive surprise in two of the four trailing quarters with an average beat of 73.46%. The company’s shares are up 70.1% so far this year. The company is scheduled to report on Aug 8.
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