Bristol profit jumps as Plavix continues rebound

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY.N) on Thursday said third-quarter earnings more than doubled after a strong rebound by its Plavix blood-clot preventer and raised its 2007 profit forecast, sending shares up about 2 percent.

Profit rose to $858 million, or 43 cents per share, from $338 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items, Bristol-Myers earned 38 cents per share. Analysts on average were expecting 36 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

The better-than-expected results were due largely to cost cutting and controlling expenses, including research spending, analysts said.

"We look for deeper cost cuts to be announced above Bristol-Myers' current plan of $500 million by the end of 2007 and $100 million by the end of 2008," Bear Stearns analyst John Boris said in a research note.

Quarterly revenue jumped almost 22 percent to $5.05 billion -- a smidgen above Wall Street forecasts -- as sales of Plavix almost doubled to $1.25 billion.

"Bristol-Myers put up a decent quarter," Morgan Stanley analyst Jami Rubin said, as Plavix sales came in line with her own prediction.

Shares of Bristol-Myers rose late on Wednesday after rival Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.N) said it had stopped enrollment in two small trials of its experimental blood-clot preventer prasugrel, which was being tested against Plavix.

Lilly said suspension of the two trials was unlikely to delay U.S. approval of prasugrel. But industry analysts on Thursday said the news had magnified their worries of whether the drug will outperform Plavix in a very large Lilly study, whose results will be unveiled on November 4.

"We believe (Bristol's) stock may rally today as investors read into the news of Lilly" halting the prasugrel trials, Rubin said, noting that any negative outcome for prasugrel reduced its potential threat to Plavix.

Shares of Lilly were down more than 7 percent in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Sales of Plavix, marketed in partnership with French drugmaker Sanofi Aventis (SASY.PA), had suffered because of a generic launched in August 2006 by Apotex Inc. Although a New York federal judge blocked continued the sale of the cheaper version weeks later, the huge supplies already on the market undermined sales of Plavix through early 2007.

Now that sales of Plavix are resurging, the drug's biggest threat is prasugrel, which Lilly has said it will submit for marketing approval by the end of the year.

Other important Bristol drugs also posted strong sales gains during the quarter, including blood pressure treatment Avapro, whose revenue rose 12 percent to $309 million.

Schizophrenia treatment Abilify, helped by its tendency not to cause weight gains seen in rival drugs, soared 34 percent to $420 million.

HIV treatments Sustiva and Reyataz, aided by their convenient once-daily dosing regimens, jumped 18 percent and 17 percent, respectively, for combined quarterly sales of $510 million. Colon cancer drug Erbitux grew 6 percent to $185 million.

But cancer drug Taxol and cholesterol treatment Pravachol suffered quarterly sales declines of 26 percent and 55 percent, respectively, due to generic competition.

Based on favorable trends, Bristol raised its full-year 2007 earnings forecast to a range of $1.42 to $1.47 per share, excluding special items. It had previously projected $1.35 to $1.45.

The new forecast translates into growth of up to 35 percent from last year, when Plavix sales crumbled under the generic onslaught.

The company affirmed its 2008 forecast of $1.60 to $1.70 per share.

Shares of Bristol were up 28 cents, or 1 percent, to $28.70 on the NYSE after hitting a session high of $28.99.