Santarus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNTS) is a bio-pharmaceutical company that produces and commercializes proprietary pharmaceutical products that address the needs of patients treated by gastroenterologists, endocrinologists, and other physician specialists.
The following are three significant developments over the past year that collectively make Santarus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNTS) a real gas of an investment.
The first significant development to digest is that Santarus recently received a favorable ruling by an appellate court on a patent lawsuit that blocked the use of a generic form of their drug, Zegerid (also known as Omeprazole/sodium bicarbonate).
Zegerid is a flagship product for Santarus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNTS) that is used for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders such as ulcers and Gastroesophagus Reflux Disease (GERD). Zegerid falls under the category of drugs known as Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs). PPIs prevent and treat gastrointestinal disorders by reducing the acid produced in the stomach.
The patent case involved a competing generic form of Zegerid which was negatively impacting prescription sales. As a consequence of this competition, Santarus had stopped promoting Zegrid in 2010. However, as a result of the favorable appellate court ruling last September, Santarus has regained market exclusivity for Zegerid, and it has re-launched the product.
The second significant development is the success of its new gastrointestinal drug, Uceris (Budesonide). Uceris treats patients with active, mild to moderate ulcerative colitis. It is estimated that over 700,000 Americans suffer from mild to moderate colitis.
Uceris was just approved by the FDA late in 2012 and the company immediately began its commercial launch of the product in mid-February. Uceris was marketed to gastroenterologists with an expanded sales organization of 235 sales representatives.
Santarus’ strategy of marketing to gastroenterologists is already proving to be enormously successful. For the first quarter of 2013, the company reported $6.6 million in net sales of the product, a remarkable achievement given that Ucerits which was only commercially launched a few months ago.
The third significant development is that the company was issued a patent for its diabetes treatment drug, Cycloset, in April of this year. The patent is not set to expire until 2032. Incidentally, the company just reported that prescriptions for Cycloset increased 44% over the first quarter of 2012.
These three recent developments have resulted in explosive earnings growth for Santarus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNTS) over the previous year. The positive impact of these developments is evidenced by Santarus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNTS)’ first quarter earnings report on May 6, which exceeded analysts’ already high expectations. As a consequence of this earnings report, both analysts and the company itself have upwardly revised their optimistic earnings growth projections for 2013.
A company’s earnings per share growth rate is a measure of the increasing profitability of a company over period of time, usually a fiscal quarter or a year. In order to be considered a promising investment, a growth company should have a year-over-year earnings per share growth rate of at least 20%.
Earnings growth is certainly no problem for Santarus. The company has a whopping 166% year-over-year earnings per share growth rate. Last year, Santarus’ full-year earnings amounted to $0.27 per share. This year’s estimated fiscal year earnings per share is $0.76 — a 180% projected earnings per share growth rate! The company itself revised its own earnings estimate for 2013 upward to $0.92 per share–a 240% increase from the previous year.
Like Santarus, AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (NYSE:AZN) and Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS) also market PPI gastrointestinal drugs. AstraZeneca manufactures and markets the prescription-only gastrointestinal drug Nexium (Esoprazole). Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS), AG markets Lansoprazole and its over-the-counter version, Prevacid 24hr. These products directly compete with Santarus’ Zegerid drug.
Despite the marketing of similar gastrointestinal drug products, Santarus’ stellar earnings growth far exceeds that of AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (NYSE:AZN) and Novartis AG (ADR) (NYSE:NVS).
AstraZeneca plc (ADR) (NYSE:AZN)’s latest 12 month EPS growth rate was an anemic 5.17%, despite aggressive marketing tactics which have been criticized by others in the pharmaceutical industry. While Novartis has an impressive 72.92% year-over-year earnings per share growth rate, it is still less than half the annual EPS growth rate of Santarus.
It is apparent that the three aforementioned developments affecting Santarus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNTS) in the past year have helped to fuel the company’s skyrocketing earnings growth. I would argue that a Fool would want to get in on this gastrointestinal drug maker because this party is just beginning–and it is going to be a gas!
The article Santarus Is a Real Gas! originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Doug Lofton.
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