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By Kamal Choudhury
(Reuters) -Incyte Corp on Monday forecast annual sales of its skin disorder treatment Opzelura below Wall Street estimates, sending the drugmaker's shares down as much as 9% in afternoon trade.
The company is banking on Opzelura sales to drive growth as its cancer drug Jakafi is set to lose key patents in 2028. Opzelura is used for the treatment of skin conditions called vitiligo and mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis in patients 12 years and older.
Incyte expects Opzelura sales in 2025 to be between $630 million and $670 million. Analysts expected sales of $671 million for the drug this year, according to LSEG data.
The weak annual forecast for the drug raises questions about the growth trajectory of Opzelura in vitiligo patients, BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said.
Incyte posted $508.3 million in Opzelura sales in full-year 2024, up from $337.9 million in 2023.
The company said it plans to launch the drug for atopic dermatitis patients 2-11 year olds and expects that to make up as much as 15% of the drug's sales this year.
Incyte reported total revenues of $1.18 billion for the fourth quarter ended December 31, above analysts' expectations of $1.14 billion, helped by strong demand for its drug Jakafi.
Sales of Jakafi rose 11% to $773.1 million in the reported quarter, beating analysts' estimate of $744.9 million.
Opzelura sales rose 48% to $161.6 million, beating analysts' estimate of $149.9 million.
Incyte also forecast Jakafi sales in 2025 to be between $2.93 billion and $2.98 billion, above estimates of $2.93 billion.
Jakafi is approved for use in patients with two types of cancers, as well as a condition called acute graft-versus-host disease, in which the donor's bone marrow or stem cells attack the recipient's body.
Incyte also said it plans to launch four new products including two new cancer treatments in 2025.
(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Shailesh Kuber)