AstraZeneca Reports 19% Revenue Growth, AbbVie Finds Successors in Autoimmune Franchise — Q1 2024 MNC Financial Highlights

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It's earnings season, and the author has compiled key information from the Q1 financial reports of 8 MNCs, including Johnson & Johnson, BMS, Novartis, Gilead, AbbVie, Merck, Roche, and AstraZeneca, for readers to review.(The main text is arranged in order of publication date)。

01. Johnson & Johnson

Total Revenue:$21.383 billion(An increase of 2.3% year-on-year)

R&D Investment:$3.542 billion(An increase of 2.5% year-on-year)

Earnings Highlights:Johnson & Johnson's revenue mainly came from the oncology segment and the immunology segment, generating $4.814 billion and $4.247 billion respectively. Additionally, Carvykti, the BCMA CAR-T therapy co-developed by Johnson & Johnson and Legend Biotech, reported total sales of $157 million in Q1 2024, representing a significant year-over-year increase of 118%. The therapy is expected to potentially surpass $1 billion in sales for 2024.(Currently available only in the U.S., EU, and Japan)。

Later Revenue Forecast:Due to the expiration of Johnson & Johnson's重磅自身免疫疾病产品 Stelara's patent, its biosimilar will enter the European market in the second half of this year, and Stelara's revenue is expected to decrease correspondingly. According to official information from Johnson & Johnson, the revenue in the second half of the year may be less than that in the first half, but the annual revenue is likely to maintain a stable growth.

02.Novartis

Total Revenue:$11.829 billion(An increase of approximately 11% year-over-year)

R&D Investment:N/A

Highlights of the financial report:Overall, Novartis' core products Entresto, Cosentyx, Kesimpta, and Kisqali all achieved steady growth, with year-over-year increases of 36%, 25%, 66%, and 54%, respectively. The closely watched radiopharmaceutical Pluvicto generated $310 million in revenue in the first quarter, a year-over-year increase of 47%, driven by improved production capacity.

In terms of the R&D pipeline, Novartis further optimized its pipeline by removing the CD73 antibody NZV930 project and the CSF-1R inhibitor sotuletinib.

Later-stage revenue forecast:In the financial report, Novartis raised its full-year revenue forecast for 2024, expecting a growth rate in the high single-digit to low double-digit percentage range.

03. Roche

Total Revenue:14.399 billion Swiss francs(Approximately 15.8 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of about 2%)

R&D Investment:N/A

Earnings Highlights:Roche's revenue comes from its two major divisions: pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. The pharmaceutical business generated Q1 revenue of 10.9 billion Swiss francs.(Approximately 11.9 billion USD), a year-on-year increase of 2%. Excluding Covid-19 products, the growth was 7%. The main driver of growth was Vabysmo, an ophthalmology bispecific antibody drug, with single-quarter sales reaching 847 million Swiss francs.(Approximately 900 million USD), increasing nearly doubled year-over-year. In addition, products such as Vabysmo, Phesgo, Ocrevus, Polivy, and Hemlibra all showed significant growth.

The financial report mentioned that since the third quarter of 2023, Roche has terminated 20% of its pipeline to focus on high-impact projects. This includes camonsertib.(ATR Small Molecule Inhibitor, Solid Tumors)、belvarafenib(Pan-RAF Inhibitor, Solid Tumors)、RG6286(Colorectal Cancer)、RG6163(Mental Illness)、RG6319(LepB Inhibitor, Urinary Tract Infection)、 Enspryng(Myasthenia Gravis), etc. The financial report also stated,In the next two quarters, Roche will continue to optimize and adjust its pipeline.。

Later Revenue Forecast:Roche stated that the decline in sales of COVID-19 products will not have a further substantial impact on the company's performance. It will further increase the Swiss franc dividend and expects overall mid-single-digit revenue growth in 2024.

04.Gilead

Total Revenue:$6.681 billion(An increase of approximately 5% year-over-year)

R&D Investment:$1.52 billion(An increase of approximately 5% year-over-year)

Highlights of the financial report:Gilead's revenue still mainly comes from HIV products, and the revenue has decreased compared to 2023 Q4, primarily due to seasonal demand and pricing impacts.

In addition, according to the data released this time, Gilead will cut 10 pipelines, including two clinical trials on cell therapy and Magrolimab.(CD47 Monoclonal Antibody)The 6 Clinical Trials(Which means Gilead will abandon further development of its CD47 product)And two clinical trials related to non-small cell lung cancer.

Later-stage revenue expectations:Gilead did not revise its fiscal revenue guidance for 2024 this time, and the year-on-year growth of total annual revenue is still expected to maintain a positive growth of 4~6%. The HIV sector will also continue to grow, with an expected year-on-year increase of 4%.

05.BMS

Total Revenue:$11.9 billion(An increase of approximately 5% year-over-year)

R&D Investment:N/A

Earnings Highlights:Among BMS's products, there are three products with quarterly revenues exceeding one billion dollars, respectively: Opdivo(O drug, PD-1 monoclonal antibody)、Eliquis(Apixaban)、Revlimid(Lenalidomide)Among them, after losing the K.O battle, BMS's O drug didn't fare well, with Q1 revenue in 2024 at $2.078 billion, a 6% decrease year-over-year, $4.9 billion less than Keytruda’s revenue in the same period. Additionally, Revlimid saw a 5% year-over-year decline. The only positive growth among these three products came from Eliquis, driven by demand in the U.S. market.

In BMS's latest statement: BMS will cut $1.5 billion in costs by 2025 and plans to lay off 2,200 employees.(6% of global employees), cutting 12 R&D pipelines. Will continue to invest in potential blockbuster products, including cell therapy products, etc.

Later Revenue Forecast:Full-year revenue is expected to grow at a low single-digit rate.(Between 1% and 4%). And according to the financial report, BMS is developing the first new mechanism drug for the treatment of schizophrenia —— KarXT（xanomeline-trospium）Is expected to be approved for marketing this year. The drug is predicted to reach sales peak of tens of billions of dollars, which will be a growth point worth looking forward to for BMS this year.

06.AstraZeneca

Total Revenue:$12.679 billion(An increase of approximately 19% year-over-year)

R&D Investment:N/A

Highlights of the financial report:AstraZeneca's revenue increased by 19%, outpacing other MNCs that have currently released their financial reports. Specifically, most of its revenue came from the oncology and cardiovascular, metabolic, and renal segments, generating $5.108 billion and $3.060 billion respectively, both showing strong growth. Additionally, AstraZeneca’s rare disease segment performed well, with a total revenue of $2.096 billion in the first quarter. Among many products, Enhertu has drawn significant attention.（DS-8201，HER2 ADC）Global total sales in the first quarter reached 879 million US dollars, compared to the same period last year.($531 million)Increased by $348 million.

In addition, according to the Q1 financial report, AstraZeneca will optimize its pipeline and abandon several early-stage drugs, including MEDI6570 and AZD7503.（ION455）, AZD5055, etc.

• In February 2024, AstraZeneca completed the acquisition of Gracell Biotechnologies, Inc.(Gracell Biotechnologies)The Acquisition(Focused on the field of cell therapy)
• In February 2024, AstraZeneca completed the acquisition of Icosavax, Inc.(Focused on the vaccine field)

• In March 2024, AstraZeneca Acquires Amolvt Pharma(Focused on Rare Endocrine Diseases)

• In March 2024, AstraZeneca acquired Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc.(Focused on the nuclear medicine field)

Later Revenue Forecast:According to the financial report, AstraZeneca's full-year revenue will maintain a growth rate of over 10% but less than 20%. Considering the potential milestones and the promotion from certain anticipated transactions in the later period, collaborative revenue will continue to grow.

07.MSD

Total Revenue:$15.8 billion(An increase of approximately 9% year-over-year)

R&D Investment:N/A

Earnings Report Highlights:From Product RevenueLook, MSD's main revenue is still contributed by PD-1 monoclonal antibody products and the HPV vaccine.Among them, Keytruda (K药) generated $6.947 billion in revenue in the first quarter, accounting for approximately 43% of Merck's total revenue; Gardasil sales reached $2.249 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14%.The growth of the pneumococcal vaccine was also extremely impressive, with a year-on-year increase of 106%, reaching sales of $219 million.

Later Revenue Forecast:Projected revenue for 2024 is $63.1-64.3 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 5-7%.

08. AbbVie

Total Revenue:$12.31 billion(An increase of approximately 1.6% year-over-year)

R&D Investment:$1.939 billion

Highlights of the financial report:As the leader in the autoimmune sector, AbbVie's total revenue from the autoimmune segment reached $5.371 billion, representing a year-over-year decrease of 3.9%. Among its products, Humira experienced a year-over-year decline of 35.9% due to competition from biosimilars, which was within expectations. Notably, the successors to Humira previously developed by AbbVie showed promising results this time, with both products exceeding growth expectations. According to financial reports, AbbVie’s Skyrizi...（IL-23 Inhibitor)Global revenue for the first quarter was $2.008 billion, a year-on-year increase of 47.6%, exceeding expectations of $1.94 billion. Rinvoq(JAK1 Inhibitor)Global sales reached $1.093 billion, a year-on-year increase of 59%, slightly higher than the earlier forecast of $1.06 billion.

In addition, AbbVie's oncology and neuroscience segments are both in positive growth, with year-over-year increases of 9.0% and 15.9%, respectively.

Later Revenue Forecast:In the financial report, AbbVie raised its full-year 2024 earnings guidance from $10.97~$11.17 per share to $11.13~$11.33 per share, reflecting AbbVie's optimistic expectations for future revenue performance. In terms of trends, AbbVie’s immunology segment will likely maintain minor fluctuations. The revenue growth of Skyrizi and Rinvoq is sufficient to offset the losses from Humira, while other segments are not expected to see significant changes.

Overall, several MNCs are in a state of steady change.The follow-up plan focuses on one key strategy: saving where necessary and spending wisely, cutting unnecessary and unpromising investments, while channeling resources into more promising areas like ADC, cell and gene therapies, and other cutting-edge directions.

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