Surging global sales of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s blockbuster Eylea (aflibercept) drove company revenues 50 percent higher during the second quarter, leading it to raise full-year guidance for Eylea's growth and boosting shares (NASDAQ:REGN) by 4.8 percent, or $26.67, to a $580.94 close on Tuesday in the wake of touching a record intraday high.

The Tarrytown, N.Y.-based company reported net income of $194.6 million during the second quarter vs. $96.4 million during the second quarter of 2014.

U.S. sales of Eylea rose 58 percent to $655 million vs. $415 million in the second quarter of 2014. Bayer Healthcare, which sells the wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and macular edema therapy outside the U.S., pulled in $338 million in sales vs. $247 million in the second quarter of 2014, boosting Regeneron's share of net profits to $107 million, an increase of 60 percent vs. the second quarter of last year.

Regeneron raised it guidance for estimated full-year 2015 Eylea U.S. net sales growth to 45 percent to 50 percent over 2014, from the previous guidance of 30 percent to 35 percent.

Deutsche Bank analyst Robyn Karnauskas attributed Eylea's unexpectedly strong sales to the company's recently released Protocol T data, an NIH-sponsored study which demonstrated a significantly greater improvement in mean change in best-corrected visual acuity from baseline at 52 weeks vs. both Avastin (bevacizumab, Genentech Inc./Roche AG) and Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech Inc./Roche AG).

Regeneron also addressed the July launch of its new anti-cholesterol therapy, Praluent (alirocumab), in the U.S. with long-time partner Sanofi SA, and its new strategic collaboration with Sanofi in the evolving field of immuno-oncology. (See BioWorld Today, July 27, 2015.)

Despite the company's substantial preparations, Praluent's launch is likely to be gradual, since "it will take several months for some commercial and government payers to conduct formulary reviews, make reimbursement coverage decisions and begin to process patient claims," Bob Terifay, Regeneron's senior vice president of commercial operations, said during a conference call.

In addition, Terifay said, "resistance of some physicians to use biologic therapy for LDL-C reduction, physicians reluctance to take on responsibility for prior authorization documentation, patients unwillingness to inject themselves and ongoing low physician and patient urgency to get LDL-cholesterol under control," could reduce the size of the actual PCSK9 inhibitor market – factors that could affect not only Praluent, but Amgen Inc.'s PCSK9 inhibitor Repatha (evolocumab) as well.

Following last week's announcement that Regeneron would work with Sanofi to jointly develop and commercialize the programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitor REGN-2810 and other new immuno-oncology antibodies, the company also shared further details of that plan. In particular, George Yancopoulos, the company's chief scientific officer, said that while outside the scope of the Sanofi collaboration, the company's first bispecific, a CD20xCD3 antibody, "could potentially pave the way for multiple additional bispecifics to enter the clinic in the coming years," which would be part of the collaboration. (See BioWorld Today, July 29, 2015.)

Regeneron posted net income of $338 million, or $2.89 per share, beating consensus estimates of $2.77 per share. As of June 30, the firm had cash and marketable securities totaling about $1.2 billion.

In other earnings news, Incyte Corp. shares (NASDAQ:INCY) also fared well, climbing $5.76 to close Tuesday at $109.74, as the company posted an unexpected second quarter profit of $9.3 million, after reporting a loss of $36.9 million in the second quarter of 2014.

The company saw second quarter earnings per share of 5 cents vs. the Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S consensus estimate, which had projected an 11 cents per share loss.

Revenues at the Wilmington, Del.-based biotech company jumped to $163 million vs. the Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S consensus estimate of $153.2 million, based largely on strong sales of Jakafi (ruxolitinib). Sales of the drug rose to $142 million during the quarter, due to "underlying growth from the myelofibrosis indication and an acceleration in Jakafi growth from the launch in patients with uncontrolled polycythemia vera," said Incyte CEO Hervé Hoppenot. Incyte raised its full 2015 guidance for Jakafi net product revenues to the range of $560 million to $575 million from an earlier $525 million to $565 million.

Incyte had cash, equivalents and marketable securities of $627 million as of June 30.

Meanwhile, shares of Biomarin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN) declined $3.39, closing at $143.78 Tuesday, despite beating sales and earnings expectations in its second quarter earnings. At least five analysts raised price targets for Biomarin shares amid optimism about a potential drisapersen approval and rising sales at the company.

Following the second quarter submission of its FDA new drug application for drisapersen for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the FDA has set a PDUFA date of Dec. 27 for the therapy. A marketing authorization application for the drug has also been accepted for review by the EMA.

The San Rafael, Calif.-based company narrowed its losses in the second quarter, turning in a net loss of $82 million vs. $33.5 million during the second quarter of 2014 as revenues picked up. Biomarin's revenue grew to $250.5 million for the second quarter, an increase of 31 percent compared to the second quarter of 2014 when it earned $191.8 million. The increase was driven primarily by solid growth across all of the company's leading marketed products, it said, including Kuvan (sapropterin dihydrochloride), Naglazyme (galsulfase) and Vimizim (elosulfase alfa).

In addition to earnings, Biomarin said it had dosed the first patients in the fourth cohort of its ongoing phase II study of the potential achondroplasia therapy, vosoritide, using 30 mcg/kg daily to explore the possibility of "catch-up" growth in patients. (See BioWorld Today, June 19, 2015.)

Biomarin ended the quarter with $440.7 million in cash and equivalents.