By Deena Beasley

(Reuters) -Amgen, which is dealing with U.S. Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) delays to its deliberate acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:), on Thursday reported greater quarterly revenue on sturdy gross sales of therapies for ldl cholesterol, osteoporosis and different medication.

The biotech firm, which barely raised its outlook for full-year income and revenue, stated it at the moment expects the Horizon deal to shut by mid-December.

For the second quarter, Amgen (NASDAQ:) reported income of $6.99 billion, up 6% from a 12 months earlier, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $6.68 billion, in keeping with Refinitiv information.

Earnings, excluding gadgets, rose 8% to $5.00 per share, forward of analyst estimates of $4.46 per share.

Product gross sales by quantity grew 11% from a 12 months earlier, however internet promoting costs fell 2%, whereas overseas trade charges and decrease stock ranges additionally restricted income features, Amgen stated.

“We had 9 merchandise with report gross sales within the quarter,” Amgen Chief Monetary Officer Peter Griffith stated in a cellphone interview.

Quarterly gross sales of ldl cholesterol drug Repatha totaled $424 million, beating the common analyst estimate of $372 million, whereas gross sales of osteoporosis drug Prolia reached $1.03 billion, in contrast with the $954 million analysts had forecast.

The outcomes present some “bounce again” after a difficult first quarter that had raised investor fears a couple of slowdown in Amgen’s base enterprise, Jefferies analyst Michael Yee stated in a analysis observe.

Gross sales of Amjevita, Amgen’s biosimilar model of AbbVie (NYSE:)’s blockbuster arthritis drug Humira, totaled $150 million, wanting Wall Avenue expectations of $204 million.

Amgen stated U.S. Amjevita gross sales fell 63% from the primary quarter, pushed by a drawdown in stock ranges, whereas gross sales exterior of the U.S. rose 13% from a 12 months earlier.

The California-based firm additionally reported optimistic outcomes from a mid-stage trial of experimental drug tarlatamab in sufferers with superior lung most cancers. Amgen stated it’s discussing with regulators whether or not the information may very well be used to hunt approval of the drug for sufferers with relapsed or refractory illness.

For the total 12 months, Amgen modestly raised its outlook for adjusted earnings per share to a spread of $17.80 to $18.80 from its prior forecast of $17.40 to $18.60. The corporate additionally elevated its outlook for 2023 income to $26.6 billion to $27.4 billion from $26 billion to $27.2 billion.

Amgen stated the forecast doesn’t embrace any influence from the deliberate Horizon acquisition.

In a lawsuit, the FTC stated it believed Amgen may leverage its large promoting medication to strain insurance coverage corporations and pharmacy profit managers to favor Horizon’s two key merchandise – thyroid eye illness remedy Tepezza and gout drug Krystexxa – over potential opponents.

“We stay up for making our case in court docket in September,” the CFO stated.

Amgen shares have been up about half a share level at $232 after hours.