Shire upgrades Baxalta cost savings after Q2 earnings beat

LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Shire upgraded its guidance for 2016 on Tuesday, after it hiked the predicted cost saving target for its $32 billion acquisition of rare disease drugs specialist Baxalta (Berlin: 9BX.BE - news) and soundly beat forecasts for the second-quarter.

The company said it now expected to deliver synergies from the deal of more than $700 million in three years, a significant rise on its $500 million it had previously forecast ahead of it closing in June.

Shire (Xetra: S7E.DE - news) , which makes drugs to treat hyperactivity as well as rare diseases, reported second-quarter revenue of $2.43 billion and non-GAAP EPS per ADS, its preferred earnings measure, of $3.38, beating analyst forecasts of $2.23 billion and $3.12, respectively.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Paul Sandle)