MS drug sales rise, income drops at Acorda

Acorda Therapeutics Inc. in Ardsley reported a 5 percent quarter-to-quarter increase in net sales of Ampyra, its leading drug product used to improve walking in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and a 28 percent increase in net sales of the drug in the third quarter over third-quarter sales in 2011.

Net sales of Ampyra from July through September totaled $69.8 million. The company reiterated its 2012 Ampyra net sales guidance of $255 million to $275 million.

Acorda”™s third-quarter net income, including share-based compensation charges, totaled $9.6 million, a 49 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2011, when the company reported net income of $18.9 million following a $23.3 million milestone payment from its marketing partner, Biogen Idec, for conditional approval in Europe for sales of Fampyra, Acorda”™s MS drug brand outside the U.S.

Before share-based compensation charges, the company”™s third-quarter net income was $15.2 million, a $1 million decrease from the third quarter last year.

The company has seen a sharp drop in shipments of Zanaflex, used to relieve spasms and increase muscle tone in MS patients, since the launch of a generic version of the drug in the first quarter this year. Third-quarter shipments of Zanaflex capsules and tablets totaled $3 million, compared with $14.1 million in the third quarter of 2011.

Acorda continues to expect combined Zanaflex revenue and sales royalties for Fampyra to amount to at least $25 million for 2012.

Dr. Ronald Cohen, Acorda Therapeutics”™ founding president and CEO, in the third-quarter earnings report said the company is “pleased” with Ampyra”™s performance. “Our top priority is to continue to maximize the Ampyra franchise” both in its existing use for MS patients as well as potential uses in the treatment of other diseases. The company is in an early phase of trials for Ampyra”™s use in treating cerebral palsy patients.

“We also have established an exciting pipeline behind Ampyra, through disciplined investment in both our existing assets and in-licensing of promising neurological agents,” Cohen said. That pipeline includes drugs being studied or clinically tried for use in the treatment of heart failure, spinal cord injury, MS and erectile dysfunction.

Acorda Therapeutics in October was added to the S&P SmallCap 600 Index.