What happened
Shares of Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) were sinking 8% as of 11:14 a.m. EDT on Thursday. The decline came after the company announced its first-quarter results following the market close on Wednesday.
So what
Global Blood Therapeutics reported net sales of $39 million in the first quarter, all of which stemmed from sickle-cell disease drug Oxbryta. This result fell well below the average analyst estimate of $47.3 million. The large revenue miss sparked today's sell-off of the biotech stock.
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The company blamed the disappointing performance for Oxbryta on COVID-19. It said there were fewer interactions with healthcare providers and patients in the first quarter due to the increased number of cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. As a result, new prescriptions for Oxbryta weren't as high as anticipated.
However, the company thinks this is only a short-term problem. It expects that new prescription volume will increase and even top pre-COVID-19 levels in the future.
Now what
Global Blood Therapeutics said that it's on track to kick off two pivotal late-stage studies of another sickle-cell disease drug, inclacumab, by mid-2021. It also expects to soon submit for U.S. approval of an expansion of the label for Oxbryta to include treating kids ages 4 to 11 who have sickle-cell disease.
