Medicines Co. Misses & Cuts

Medicines Co.’s (MDCO - Analyst Report) third-quarter loss per share of 6 cents missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 5 cents. Revenues increased 12% to $98.8 million from $88.13 million in the year ago period driven by strong sales of Angiomax (bivalirudin).
 
Angiomax, the lead product of the company that was acquired from Biogen Idec, Inc. (BIIB - Analyst Report) in 1996, is used as an anticoagulant in patients undergoing coronary angioplasty. The drug recorded robust sales growth compared to the year ago period – 9% to $92.2 million and 74% to $5.5 million in both domestic and international market, respectively.
 
The only other drug of Medicines Co., Cleviprex (clevidipine), received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2008. It is an intravenous drug (calcium channel blocker) intended for the short-term control of blood pressure in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The drug recorded sales of $1.1 million, up from $0.9 million recorded in the year-ago period.
 
Gross margin declined to 71.34% during the quarter, compared to 74.9% in the third quarter of 2008. While revenues increased 12%, cost of revenues increased 28% bringing down the margin.
 
The reported quarter has been quite significant for the company. In the HORIZONS-AMI trial data, published in the Lancet, it was observed that Angiomax reduced cardiac-related death by 43%, improved overall survival by 27% and reduced major bleeding complications by 39% compared with heparin plus a GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor. Additionally, the drug showed an absolute reduction of 1.7% in cardiac-related death and 1.3% in all-cause death at one year.
 
In another major achievement, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) granted a positive opinion for the use of Angiox (trade name of bivalirudin outside the US ) in patients with heart attacks (so-called ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)) undergoing emergency heart procedures called primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
 
The Medicines Co. downgraded its outlook for 2009. The company now expects total sales in the range of $395 - $405 million, down from the previous guidance of $430 - $455 million. We believe the decline in PCI volume will continue to affect revenues. Lower revenues and higher R&D costs, partially offset by a lower tax rate, resulted in the company reducing its earnings per share guidance to a range of 14–24 cents, down from the earlier guidance of 88 cents to $1.10.