(Reuters) -Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc on Friday reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat analysts' estimates, boosted by demand for blockbuster drugs Dupixent and Eylea, coupled with higher sales of its COVID-19 therapy.
Sales of Dupixent, which is used to treat eczema, jumped 51% to $1.77 billion, while that of eye drops Eylea increased 13% to $2.45 billion.
The company also recorded $2.30 billion in sales of its COVID-19 antibody therapy, REGEN-COV, as it completed final deliveries to the U.S. government under an agreement signed in September.
That helped its quarterly revenue more than double to $4.95 billion, and beat analysts estimates of $4.51 billion, as per Refinitiv IBES data. Excluding revenue from REGEN-COV, the sales growth was 17%.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January had revised its emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 antibody treatments from Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN) and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) to limit their use, as the drugs were found to be unlikely to work against the Omicron variant.
"Given the lack of efficacy of REGEN-COV against the Omicron variant, we are working hard to develop next generation antibodies that are active against Omicron and all other variants of concern," said Leonard Schleifer, president and chief executive officer of Regeneron.
The company's net profit nearly doubled to $2.23 billion, or $19.69 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.