Clovis Oncology CLVS incurred loss of 89 cents per share for the third quarter of 2020, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.01 and the year-ago loss of $1.72 per share.

Net revenues, entirely from Clovis’ only marketed drug, Rubraca, were up almost 3.1% year over year to $38.8 million in the quarter. However, revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $42.34 million. Total sales of Rubraca also declined 2.8% sequentially due to continued fewer new patient starts amid coronavirus related stay-in-home and other travel restrictions. The company stated that the COVID-19 related situation remains uncertain and it is difficult to predict future sales of the drug.

The company’s guided range for Rubraca sales in the fourth quarter 2020 of $38-$40 million was below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $48.4 million.

Shares of Clovis were down almost 21.2% on Nov 5, presumably on dismal Rubraca sales growth. The stock has plunged 57.1% so far this year compared with the industry’s decrease of 1.1%.

Quarter in Details

Sales of Rubraca, a PARP inhibitor, in the United States were $33.9 million, compared with $37.6 million in the third quarter of 2019. Ex-U.S. market sales were $4.9 million in the third quarter compared with $1.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

In the third quarter, research & development expenses decreased 19.3% year over year to $62.9 million, primarily due to lower spending on Rubraca clinical studies. Selling, general and administrative expenses declined 7.7% year over year to $38.6 million, driven by cost-saving initiatives and savings due to the COVID-19 situation globally.

Clovis ended the quarter with $224.7 million of cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities compared with $261.4 million as of Jun 30, 2020.

The company expects its cash resources, along with anticipated revenues and available financing sources, to be enough to support its operations in early 2022.

Update on Rubraca

A phase III TRITON3 study evaluating Rubraca in mCRPC patients with BRCA mutation and ATM mutation, and who have not received chemotherapy is currently enrolling patients.

The company has a collaboration with Bristol-Myers BMY to develop Rubraca and pipeline candidate, lucitanib, in combination with the latter’s PD-L1 inhibitor, Opdivo, for several cancer indications. The phase III ATHENA study is evaluating Rubraca plus Opdivo as first-line maintenance treatment in advanced ovarian cancer. In June, the companies completed enrollment in the study. A phase II study —FRACTION-GC — to evaluate doublet and triplet combination of Rubraca and Bristol-Myers’ Yervoy and Opdivo in patients with advanced gastric cancer is also enrolling patients.

A phase II LODESTAR study is evaluating Rubraca in patients with recurrent solid tumors associated with the deleterious homologous recombination repair or HRR gene mutations. Based on the company’s interaction with FDA, it stated that data from the study may be used to file a regulatory application in 2021, seeking approval for Rubraca in HRR patients.

Restructuring Initiatives

Clovis announced a hybrid commercial strategy, which will combine increased digital promotional activities, greater online resources and more peer-to-peer interactions. Moreover, the company will reduce in-person promotion and take a more targeted approach. It has also reduced its workforce to 45 employees. The company expects to achieve annual cost-savings of approximately $10 million from these initiatives.

Zacks Rank

Clovis currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks from the drug/biotech sector include Emergent Biosolutions Inc. EBS and miRagen Therapeutics, Inc. MGEN. While Emergent sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), miRagen carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Emergent Biosolutions’ earnings per share estimates have moved up from $6.17 to $8.42 for 2021 in the past 60 days. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 127.41%, on average, in the last four quarters. The stock has risen 79.8% so far this year.

Miragen Therapeutics’ loss per share estimates narrowed from 51 cents to 42 cents for 2021 in the past 60 days. The stock has risen 168.8% so far this year.

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