Mylan narrows annual revenue estimates on COVID-19 pressure

(Reuters) - Mylan NV on Thursday lowered the top-end of its full-year sales estimate, saying a recovery of demand for its non-coronavirus related medicines would take until at least the end of the year and sending its shares down 1.1%.

Generic drugmakers like Mylan benefited in the first quarter from customers stocking up on over-the-counter medicines ahead of the lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the virus.

The stockpiling, however, meant that patients bought fewer drugs in the second quarter, weighing on sales outside North America and the company now expects 2020 revenue of between $11.5 billion and $12.0 billion, versus up to $12.50 billion previously.

Mylan, which sells a cheaper version of Gilead Sciences Inc's COVID-19 drug remdesivir, took a roughly 5% hit to sales of products in Europe and the rest of the world as non-COVID-19 related hospital visits fell during the pandemic.

For the quarter ended June 30, the company posted profit above estimates, helped mainly by higher sales in North America of recently launched products including asthma drug Wixela and Yupelri, a treatment for a chronic lung condition.

Mylan has been trying to bulk up its arsenal of drugs with new product launches as it struggles with pricing pressures for generic medicines in North America and generic competition for its largest specialty drug, EpiPen.

The company's planned merger with Pfizer Inc's off-patent branded drugs unit, Upjohn, seeks to spur growth and help it fight some of the long-term challenges.

Completion of the deal, which will form a new company called Viatris, has been delayed till the fourth quarter of 2020 from the middle of the year as previously expected.

Mylan on Thursday said its EpiPen supply agreement with Pfizer's Meridian Medical Technologies business, which is set to expire at the end of 2020, has been extended by another four years to Dec 31, 2024.

(The story refiles to fix reporting and editing credits.)

(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla and Trisha Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Maju Samuel)