As the ink dries on CSL’s $11.7 billion Vifor buyout, the company posted a dip in profits, due in part to a drop in plasma donations amid the pandemic.
However, CEO Paul Perreault assured investors and analysts on the full-year call that the team has left “no stone unturned” when assessing options to grow plasma volumes. The chief executive also spelled out positive results for the company’s monoclonal antibody garadacimab in hereditary angioedema (HAE), though he isn’t revealing the exact numbers just yet.
“Garadacimab has the potential to be another flagship molecule for CSL,” Perreault said on the call, adding in a news release that garadacimab met its primary and secondary endpoints and showed “favorable safety and tolerability.”
The company’s stock on the Australian Securities Exchange was down 1.3% on Wednesday, pricing at around $202.
CSL profits were down roughly 6% for the four quarters ending June 30, Perreault revealed on Wednesday. A drop in plasma donations in FY21 constrained sales of the company’s core plasma therapies in FY22, given the long manufacturing cycle, he said.
“The pandemic has put us two years behind projected growth in plasma collections – which is suboptimal for patient care,” Perreault said in a news release.
CSL’s plasma donations are used to produce therapies that treat bleeding disorders from HAE to Von Willebrand disease. CSL’s immunoglobulin and albumin franchises rely heavily on donations.
Though the company has taken measures to grow its plasma collection, that comes at a higher cost. All in all, plasma collection is up 24% over the previous fiscal year, as the result of 27 new plasma collection centers opening. The company also aims to launch its plasmapheresis platform in FY23, which promises to reduce the average donation time by about 30%.
“I will say Covid has presented challenges for patients. They have had limited access to treatment and diagnosis. There has also been an environment of constrained supply,” Perreault said on the call. “As the global supply recovers, we are anticipating a strong growth rebound in the Ig portfolio, with opportunities in core indications of primary immune deficiency, secondary immune deficiency and CIDP.”
As for garadacimab, Perreault said full results will be presented at an upcoming conference, and CSL hopes to begin filing with global health authorities by the end of the current fiscal year.
The CEO is waiting until October to reveal more information about the integration of Vifor. The companies received regulatory clearance just a couple of weeks ago — months after initially announcing the deal.