Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN ) early Thursday (Feb 9, 2017 | 6:41am) posted worse that expected fourth quarter earnings results, but the company won an appeal in a court case regarding one of its key drugs.

Written by StockNews.com

The Tarrytown, NY-based biopharma giant reported adjusted Q4 EPS of $3.04, which was $0.04 worse than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $3.08. Revenues rose 11.7% from last year to $1.23 billion, also missing analysts’ $1.3 billion view.

Regeneron noted that fourth quarter U.S. net sales of its EYLEA macular degeneration treatment jumped 15% to $858 million, up from $746 million in the year-ago period. Non-U.S. sales surged 20% to $496 million.

Q4 global net sales of REGN’s Praluent cholesterol treatment were $41 million, up from just $7 million in the year-ago period. The company also won a key court battle regarding the drug, with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit staying (suspending) a previous injunction that had prevented Regeneron and Sanofi (SNY) from selling the drug in the U.S.

Looking ahead, REGN forecast EYLEA U.S. net sales growth in the single digits, and Sanofi reimbursement of $400 to $450 million.

The company commented via press release:

“The hard work of our scientists over the last decades has brought Regeneron to the next phase of our evolution – this year we anticipate launching two additional important therapies, significantly expanding our impact for patients with serious diseases and our company’s growth potential,” said Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Regeneron. “In March, we look forward to the potential U.S. approval of Dupixent, our innovative and breakthrough IL4/13 blocking antibody, in adults with atopic dermatitis. We believe Dupixent may have the potential to help additional patients with serious allergic diseases, with pivotal Phase 3 data in adult asthma patients expected later this year. We are also studying Dupixent in patients with nasal polyps and pediatric patients with asthma or atopic dermatitis.”

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares were unchanged in premarket trading Thursday. Year-to-date, REGN has declined -3.77%, versus a 2.55% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

REGN currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of C (Neutral), and is ranked #51 of 259 stocks in the Biotech category.