OSI Pharmaceuticals says 4Q sales of cancer drug Tarceva rise 17 percent in US, abroad

OSI reports 17 percent boost in Tarceva sales

MELVILLE, N.Y. — OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday sales of its cancer drug Tarceva jumped 17 percent in the U.S. and abroad during the fourth quarter.

The sales are reported by the company’s marketing partner, Roche’s Genentech. Tarceva is sold as a lung and pancreatic cancer treatment.

U.S. sales rose 17 percent to $137 million, while international sales also rose 17 percent to $196 million. For the full year, Tarceva sales jumped 7 percent to $1.2 billion.

OSI said it will present full financial results in its fourth-quarter and year-end earnings call.

OSI receives the bulk of its revenue from Tarceva sales, which it shares with Roche. The company also receives revenue from royalties on diabetes treatments. In December, the company trimmed its 2010 revenue outlook because of a potential regulatory roadblock to expanding Tarceva’s approved uses.

A Food and Drug Administration Advisory panel has recommended against expanding approval of Tarceva as a lung cancer treatment for patients who are already responding to chemotherapy. Currently, it is approved for lung cancer patients whose cancer has spread despite chemotherapy.

The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panels, though it usually does. A decision on the expansion of Tarceva use is set for Jan. 18.

The company expects 2010 revenue to grow by a mid-teens percentage, down from prior guidance for growth in the high teens. At the time, the company also reaffirmed 2009 revenue guidance of $425 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect 2009 revenue of about $418.9 million, on average.

Shares of OSI rose $1.54, or 4.8 percent, to $33.53 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $27.01 and $43 over the last 52 weeks.