Benzinga | May 5, 2021 10:04AM EDT

Clovis Oncology Reports 11% Drop In Q1 Sales As COVID-19 Hit Rubraca Sales

* Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ: CLVS) reported a Q1 EPS loss of $0.64 better than the consensus loss of $0.72 and an improvement from an EPS loss of $1.39 a year ago.

* Rubraca revenues came in at $38.10 million, lagging the consensus of $44.55 million, as well as an 11% Y/Y decrease over sales last year.

* The decrease was primarily due to fewer diagnoses and fewer patient starts, primarily due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

* In addition, first-quarter 2020 was the company's strongest quarter of U.S. Rubraca sales to date, and the pandemic had a limited impact on the net revenues.

* R&D costs were down 23% at $52.8 million due primarily to lower spending on Rubraca clinical trials.

* SG&A expenses decreased 30% at $29.9 million due to the COVID-19 situation globally and overall cost reduction efforts.

* Clovis expects R&D and SG&A expenses to drop in the full year 2021 compared to 2020.

* Clovis ended the quarter with $190.9 million in cash and equivalents, which is expected to fund its operating plan into early 2023.

* Price Action: CLVS shares rise 9.2% at $6.02 in market trading hours on the last check Wednesday.