By Mike Evers, ORTHOWORLD
Sanofi’s hyaluronic acid product lines, Synvisc and Synvisc-One, posted revenue of USD $93.1MM in 4Q18, -5.8% vs. 4Q17. For full year 2018, sales of those products totaled $359.6MM, -19.1% vs. 2017. Sales in the U.S., the primary market for Synvisc, declined 9.8%. This was somewhat offset by performance in emerging markets, where sales increased 14.3%. Fourth quarter performance, while negative, is a marked improvement over last quarter, where total sales and U.S. sales were both in the -30% range.
By our estimates, Sanofi comprises around 7% of the total orthobiologics market, which faced headwinds like stiffer reimbursement requirements in 2018. But Synvisc’s rate of decline, an average of -24% in the last two years, seems to go far beyond what can be accounted for by a challenging market segment.
The company did not provide any Synvisc-specific commentary on their 4Q18 earnings call.
Synvisc and Synvisc-One sales on an as-reported basis are as follows.
| |
4Q18 |
4Q17 |
$ Change |
% Change |
| Orthobiologics |
$93.1 |
$98.8 |
-$5.7 |
-5.8% |
| |
FY18 |
FY17 |
$ Change |
% Change |
| Orthobiologics |
$359.6 |
$444.6 |
-$85.0 |
-19.1% |
Synvisc and Synvisc-One sales by geographic region are as follows.
| Geographic Region |
4Q18 |
4Q17 |
$ Change |
% Change |
| US |
$63.2 |
$70.1 |
-$6.9 |
-9.8% |
| Ex-US |
$29.9 |
$28.7 |
$1.1 |
4.0% |
| Europe |
$8.0 |
$8.0 |
$0.0 |
0.0% |
| Emerging Markets |
$18.4 |
$16.1 |
$2.3 |
14.3% |
| Rest of World |
$3.4 |
$4.6 |
-$1.1 |
-25.0% |
| Total |
$93.1 |
$98.8 |
-$5.7 |
-5.8% |
Sources: Sanofi; ORTHOWORLD estimates
Mike Evers is ORTHOWORLD’s Market Analyst. He can be reached by email.
