BOTHELL – ICOS Corp. is on track for the biotechnology firm’s first profitable year, as sales of the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis approach $1 billion annually.
Company leaders announced the news along with second-quarter results that showed a net income of $6.1 million, or 9 cents a share, compared to a $30.6 million loss in the same period last year.
“I am thrilled to announce that ICOS is now on track to achieve, for the first time in the company’s history, full-year net income,” said Paul Clark, ICOS’ chairman and chief executive officer. The company also has raised estimates for worldwide sales of its drug.
“Sales of Cialis have continued to grow at an impressive rate,” Clark added.
Second-quarter sales of the drug, first released in late July, totaled $233 million, up 22 percent from the same quarter in 2005. Sales in the U.S., the world’s largest market for impotence drugs, were up by 32 percent from last year.
That strong trend means Cialis could rack up $950 million in sales this year and “comfortably clear” $1 billion next year, Clark said.
That has prompted ICOS to revise its forecast that the company would end 2006 with a net loss of $5 million. Instead, the company should post net income of $6 million to $15 million.
“Certainly, from an income statement standpoint, the results keep coming in better than expected,” said Paul Latta, an analyst with Seattle’s McAdams Wright Ragen.
Meanwhile, the company is focusing on gaining approval for a once-a-day version of Cialis. ICOS and its partner in the drug, Eli Lilly &Co., have applied for such approval in Europe and Canada, and plan to do so in the U.S. before the end of the year.
Prescription-only Cialis typically is taken by men when they anticipate sex; the dose can be effective in treating impotence for up to 36 hours.
The daily Cialis pill dose would contain a lower dose of the active ingredient, meaning it would be priced lower. But David Goodkin, senior vice president of development and chief medical officer at ICOS, said three phase 3 studies show that the lower dose is safe and effective.
In tests, between 76 and 85 percent of men reported “highly significant improvement” in erectile function when taking the daily dose. That compares to 81 percent of men taking the regular does of Cialis.
“We are pleased with the efficacy and safety profiles we see with one-a-day dosing,” Goodkin said.
If approved, Cialis Once-a-Day could end up lifting the drug’s sales by another $200 million annually, according to ICOS.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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