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October 6, 2020 Bioscience

Alexion to raise 2020 revenue guidance, buy back $3B in stock

PHOTO | File image Alexion CEO Ludwig Hantson
By Natalie Missakian

Alexion Pharmaceuticals plans to raise its 2020 full-year revenue guidance by more than $200 million and is targeting global revenues of between $9 and $10 billion by 2025.

The New Haven-born company, which announced the plans ahead of its Virtual Investor Day on Tuesday, also said it expects to return at least $3 billion to shareholders through a multi-year stock buyback program.

The company said it would dedicate at least one-third of annual free cash flow to share repurchases from 2021 and 2023.

Alexion shares climbed more than 2% Tuesday morning on the news. Its stock was trading at $116.19 as of late morning.

CEO Ludwig Hantson said Alexion, which is based in Boston but has a large New Haven research facility, “is a very different company than it was in 2017,” the year Hantson took the helm.

The company, which has been trying to lessen its dependence on its blockbuster drug Soliris, said it now has a “robust pipeline” of more than 20 development programs, up from four at the end of 2017, and continues to expand into new therapeutic areas. It is also eyeing 10 “promising” potential drug launches by 2023. 

Alexion also said it’s on track to file more than five IND (investigational new drug) applications by 2025, including two this year. INDs are applications filed with the FDA to begin human testing on new drugs.

“We are in a new stage of company expansion and diversification that provides a path to long-term sustainable growth and allows us to reinvest in innovation for the future and return value to shareholders,” Hantson said.

During its second-quarter earnings report in July, Alexion had projected 2020 revenues of between $5.55 and $5.6 billion. It has not said when it will release its third-quarter financials.

Contact Natalie Missakian at news@newhavenbiz.com

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