[Updated 3:16 pm PT] Seattle Genetics ended up getting $138.2 million of sales in the first full year of marketing its first cancer drug. And it expects next year’s sales will be in the same ballpark.
The Bothell, WA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said today, in its fourth quarter and full-year financial report for 2012, that it generated $138.2 million in net product sales from brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris). That performance narrowly missed the company’s forecast of $140 million to $150 million, which it laid out for shareholders in May (although it did beat a more recent forecast of $132 million to $137 million). For 2013, Seattle Genetics said it expects to collect $130 million to $140 million in sales of Adcetris.
Seattle Genetics first hit the market with this new product, for patients with Hodgkin’s disease and anaplastic large cell lymphoma, when it was approved by the FDA in August 2011. While the sales trends from quarter to quarter have reached a plateau, Seattle Genetics is spending increasing amounts on clinical trials designed to expand the usage of its lone product for rare lymphomas. The company boosted its R&D spending to $47.7 million in the fourth quarter, up from $40.2 million in the same period a year earlier. The company has said that by betting more on clinical trials for its lead drug, it could turn into a $1 billion annual seller, providing more and more resources to advance its pipeline of other treatments.
Even though Seattle Genetics leans entirely on brentuximab vedotin for product sales, it does have other revenue streams. Seattle Genetics also said it expects to pull in $65 million to $75 million in revenue this year through payments from collaborators who use its technology that links targeted antibodies to toxins that make them more potent. The company, which is seen by some on Wall Street as a one-drug shop, also emphasized today that it has six other internal drug candidates in clinical trials or approaching clinical trials.
“As we look ahead, Seattle Genetics is on a great trajectory,” said CEO Clay Siegall, on a conference call with analysts. Todd Simpson, the company’s chief financial officer, added, “we are well positioned to invest in Adcetris and our pipeline.”
For the full earnings report, click here.
