Regeneron Gains 4% Following Q1 Earnings Release

Shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: REGN) were trading higher by more than 4 percent early Thursday morning after the company reported its first-quarter results.

Regeneron said that it earned $2.57 per share in the first quarter on revenue of $1.2 billion. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $2.58 per share on revenue of $1.2 billion.

GAAP net income for the quarter rose to $166 million from $76 million in the same quarter a year ago, as total global sales of EYLEA rose 44 percent.

Total sales of EYLEA in the U.S. during the quarter rose to $781 million from $541 million a year ago, while net sales of EYLEA outside of the United States rose to $419 million from $292 million a year ago.

Related Link: Why Regeneron's Praluent Is Likely To Be Removed From The U.S. Market This Year

A Phase 3 study of EYLEA for the treatment of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy in patients without diabetic macular edema. In addition, the company held 12 other product candidates in its clinical development pipeline.

"The year is off to a very productive start at Regeneron. This quarter, we saw continued strong sales growth with EYLEA, made additional launch progress with Praluent, prepared for the potential launch of sarilumab, and reported important new data across our pipeline," said Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Regeneron.

"Our innovative new therapy dupilumab showed positive results across two Phase 3 trials in moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, a debilitating disease with very limited treatment options, and we look forward to submitting a Biologics License Application to the U.S. FDA in the third quarter."

Looking forward to the full fiscal year, the company expects total U.S. EYLEA net product sales to rise 20 to 25 percent growth over 2015's level, marking an increase from the previous guidance of approximately 20 percent growth.