July 28 (Reuters) – Drugmaker Incyte Corp reported on Tuesday higher second-quarter earnings and raised its annual revenue forecast after it settled a lawsuit with the U.S. government over Medicaid rebates tied to eczema cream Opzelura.
Here are the details:
• The U.S. drugmaker raised its 2026 revenue forecast to between $5.13 billion and $5.26 billion, from its previous forecast of $4.77 billion to $4.94 billion.
• Incyte reached a settlement in June with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services over rebate criteria for Opzelura, its eczema and vitiligo treatment.
• The agreement will add an estimated $300 million to $310 million to Opzelura’s net sales for the full-year 2026.
• CMS agreed not to classify Opzelura as a line extension of Incyte’s older drug Jakafi, while the company agreed to withdraw its lawsuit challenging the regulations.
• When a branded drug is reformulated, the new drug is classified by the Medicare agency as a line extension.
• Total net sales for the second quarter increased 40% to $1.49 billion, driven by a one-time, non-cash benefit of $246 million related to the CMS litigation settlement.
• Incyte also said it has discontinued further development of the INCB160058 drug for blood cancer and will prioritize its next-generation therapies.
• “Although disappointing, we are not surprised by the update given the INCB160058 program has been delayed and faced formulation challenges,” said William Blair analyst Matt Phipps.
• Second-quarter Jakafi sales rose to $816.7 million, while Opzelura net sales came at $449.7 million.
• Incyte earned quarterly adjusted profit of $3.09 per share, surpassing estimates of $2.10 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
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