Buoyed by its strong performance outside of the U.S. market, Daiichi Sankyo on Wednesday again raised its sales expectations for the blockbuster antibody-drug conjugate.
Pictured: Green bar graph depicting an increasing trend/iStock, Think_About_Life
Daiichi Sankyo again raised the revenue forecast for its blockbuster antibody-drug conjugate Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki), according to its third quarter earnings report for the fiscal year 2023 posted Wednesday.
The Japanese pharma now expects the AstraZeneca-partnered Enhertu to bring in approximately $2.61 billion for the fiscal year 2023, this time driven by growth outside the U.S.
This is the second time Daiichi Sankyo raised Enhertu’s sales forecast this fiscal year. In July 2023, the company set a full-fiscal-year revenue target of approximately $2.18 billion, which it then raised to $2.6 billion during its second quarterly report of the fiscal year posted in October 2023.
According to Daiichi Sankyo’s presentation on Wednesday, Enhertu’s loftier sales outlook is driven primarily by its strong performance in international markets. The pharma similarly raised its revenue outlook in Japan, Europe and the combined Asia and South and Central America market.
However, in the U.S., Daiichi Sankyo lowered its sales expectations for Enhertu to $1.54 billon. The company made the downward adjustment despite 55% year-over-year growth for the therapy’s sales in the country, growing to nearly $1.14 billion in the first nine months of the 2023 fiscal year versus $680 million during the same period the prior year.
Taking its entire business into consideration, Daiichi Sankyo reported a total revenue of around $7.98 billion during the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, representing 23.7% year-over-year growth. According to the company’s presentation, this growth was strongly driven by sales of its anti-influenza drug Inavir (laninamivir) and anticoagulant Lixiana (edoxaban) in Japan.
Daiichi Sanyko’s oncology business was also a major contributor to its growth in the quarter, attributable primarily to Enhertu.
Given its strong performance in the quarter, Daiichi Sankyo also raised its overall revenue outlook to around $10.75 billion for the full 2023 fiscal year, up from $10.54 billion set during the previous quarterly report.
As for pipeline updates, Daiichi Sankyo and partner AstraZeneca are expecting a readout of the Phase III DESTINY-Breast06 study during the first half of the fiscal year 2024. DESTINY-Breast06 is evaluating Enhertu in HR+ and HER2-low breast cancer patients who have not yet undergone chemotherapy.
The partners are also awaiting the FDA’s decision on Enhertu as a treatment option for HER2-expressing solid tumors, with a target action date of May 30.
Tristan Manalac is an independent science writer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. Reach out to him on LinkedIn or email him at tristan@tristanmanalac.com or tristan.manalac@biospace.com.
