Medicis Q1: One Day's Generic Competition Cost Company Up to 17% of Solodyn Sales

Medicis revenues declined 23 percent to $100 million in Q1 2009, underlining how dependent the company is on the launch of its competitor to Botox. Net income was just $329,000, down from $20.5 million.

While the company was expecting business to fall off -- it's concentrated in vanity pharma, the type of discretionary spend that people pull back on in a recession -- Medicis' problems were compounded by a (quickly snuffed) one-day generic launch.

Most of the revenue drop was attributed to a single day's sales of unauthorized generic Solodyn, the company's acne product. Medicis' skincare segment lost $13.6 million in sales in the period. Medicis doesn't break out its skincare products by brand, but the total drop was 17 percent.

If you assume that the entire 17 percent was due to Solodyn and add the $13.6 million back into the sales figure, then Medicis' business would still have lost $15.4 million in revenues, or seen a 12 percent dip. So this is a company with overall weakness, not bad luck on the mistaken generic launch front.

The company is in the midts of its Dysport launch, its cheaper competitor to Allergan's Botox. Early results from the launch will be in Q2's numbers.

• See previous coverage of Medicis:
• Allergan's Q1 Nightmare: Profit Down; Black Box Warning on Botox Vindicates an Old Nemesis; "It's All Medicis' Fault!"
• Allergan Could Lose a Third of Botox Market With FDA's Approval of Medicis' Dysport
• Medicis Doubled Pay of Exec Convicted of Off-Label Sales
• Medicis Employees Should Look Anxiously at Allergan Layoffs
• Medicis Explains Sudden Increase in Company's Deferred Tax Assets
• Medicis Squeezed in Vanity Pharma Death Match vs. Allergan and J&J
• Q&A With Medicis CEO Jonah Shacknai, Who Sees a "Definite Downturn" in Vanity Pharma
• Medicis' Accounting Error Puts Spotlight on Solodyn Weakness; Allergan Rejoices
• The Allergan-Medicis Vanity Pharma Death Match Is About to Get Complicated

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