Incyte (INCY -1.08%) delivered its first-quarter results before the market opened on Tuesday, reporting revenue up 14% year over year to $569 million, which topped the analysts' average estimate of $556 million. But the biotech recorded a GAAP net loss of $720.6 million, or $3.33 per share, and an adjusted net loss of $618.9 million, or $2.86 per share. The consensus Wall Street forecast had been for earnings of $0.61 per share.
Why the mixed results
Incyte's revenue growth was fueled largely by Jakafi, which generated sales of $459.5 million, a 22% year-over-year jump. The biotech also made $56.3 million in royalties from Novartis' (NVS 0.72%) international sales of the drug under the name Jakavi.
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Sales of leukemia drug Iclusig increased by 32% year over year to $27.2 million in Q1. Incyte's royalty revenue from Eli Lilly's (LLY -1.00%) sales of rheumatoid arthritis drug Olumiant totaled $25.4 million in Q1, up 59% from the prior-year period.
The company's net loss stemmed from primarily from an $805 million upfront payment to MorphoSys (MOR 0.44%) related to a licensing and collaboration deal for experimental blood cancer drug tafasitamab. Without this payment, Incyte would have posted positive earnings.
2020 outlook
Incyte maintained its previously announced full-year guidance. The biotech expects Jakafi net product revenue between $1.88 billion and $1.95 billion. It projects Iclusig net product revenue between $100 million and $105 million. Incyte stated that it hasn't experienced any commercial impact from the COVID-19 pandemic so far, but new patient enrollment for some of its clinical studies could be hindered by the pandemic.
