Biotech Sector Got It Right Last Quarter

Meanwhile, Amgen beat expectations and upped its guidance for the year.

A $54 million benefit from an accounting change and some help from foreign exchange gave a boost to Aranesp sales, which otherwise would've declined 8%. Sales of Amgen's other products came in above consensus as well, while the company also spent less than analysts had predicted.

Investor focus remains on Amgen's late-stage bone-drug denosumab, it's most promising pipeline product. Positive data were announced earlier this year in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis, and additional findings should be available in the coming months. Amgen, which is holding a business review meeting on Nov. 7, said it was very close to submitting a regulatory application for the drug.

Celgene wrapped up big biotech's earnings with an upbeat quarter. The company topped targets and said it expects to exceed its prior guidance of $1.50 a share and $2.2 billion in revenue for the year.

On its call, Celgene management said Revlimid's performance in Europe, where the multiple myeloma drug is still being rolled out, was solid even with negative foreign currency effects. In the U.S., quarterly Revlimid prescription volume increased more than 7% sequentially despite a typically sluggish summer and heightened competition from Japanese drug maker Takeda's Velcade.

Celgene is pursuing an aggressive strategy to expand Revlimid's use into two new blood cancers, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Here's a look at how biotech's biggest names fared in the third quarter.

Biotech Earnings Review A quick look at the third quarter numbers
Company	Adj. EPS/ consensus*	Revenue vs. consensus	2008 Guidance Adjustments	2008 consensus
Genentech (DNA)	81 cents / 88 cents	$3.4B / $3.36 B	Narrowed to $3.40 to $3.45/share, from $3.40 to $3.50/share (Adj)	$3.43/share and $13.3B rev
Gilead (GILD)	55 cents/ 49 cents	$1.37B/ $1.32B	Maintained sales $4.9B to $5B	$2.03/share and $5.33B rev
Genzyme (GENZ)	$1.04/ $1	$1.16B/ $1.18B	Maintained $3.90/share (Adj.)	-$3.97/share and $4.62B rev
Biogen (BIIB)	98 cents/ 89 cents	$1.09B/ $1B	Above $3.50 a share (Adj.), on rev growth above mid-20% over 2007	$3.62/share and $4.1B rev
Amgen (AMGN)	$1.23/$1.08	$3.88B/ $3.7B	Upped to $4.45 to $4.55/share (Adj.), on rev of $14.9B to $15.2B.	-$4.53/share and $15B rev
Celgene (CELG)	40 cents/ 39 cents	$592.5M/ $$588.8M	Upped to above $1.50/share and rev of $2.2B	$1.55/share and $2.25B rev
*Consensus estimates typically factor out one time charges and special items.