Latest News Allergan Reports Lower Sales in Both Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2018 Periods By Staff Wednesday, January 30, 2019 12:15 AM DUBLIN—Allergan (NYSE: AGN) on Tuesday reported full-year 2018 net revenues of $15.8 billion, a 1.0 percent decrease from 2017, and fourth-quarter net revenues of $4.08 billion, a 5.7 percent decrease from the year-ago quarter. Allergan chairman and chief executive officer Brent Saunders said the company “posted another quarter of strong results to close out 2018,” which he said underscores Allergan’s focus on “execution, financial discipline and the strength of our core business, which grew 8.3 percent.”The company reported that its non-GAAP operating income (which excludes impairments, amortization and other items) decreased 1.2 percent to $7.56 billion in 2018 from $7.65 billion in 2017. The company attributed the decline to lower revenues as operating margin remained stable.In the fourth quarter, non-GAAP operating income declined 11.8 percent to $1.92 billion, according to the company’s year-end financial statement.Saunders added in the company’s announcement, “Our anchor brands Botox Cosmetic, Botox Therapeutic, Vraylar, Juvederm, Lo Loestrin, CoolSculpting and Linzess added nearly $1 billion in new revenue to our core business in 2018. I'm also proud of the significant advances we have made in our R&D pipeline with positive clinical results reported from six late-stage development programs. We look to build on that progress in 2019."In its eyecare business segment, Allergan reported that U.S. revenues for Restasis in the fourth quarter totaled $325.0 million, a decrease of 18.8 percent. (Restasis is a treatment for chronic dry eye disease.) U.S. sales of Alphagan/Combigan in the fourth quarter were $97.7 million, a decrease of 4.0 percent versus the prior year quarter. And sales of Ozurdex in the fourth quarter totaled $29.3 million, an increase of 11.0 percent versus the year-ago quarter.For the full year 2018, U.S. sales of Restasis totaled just under $1.2 billion, a decline of about 15 percent. Restasis, which is facing a court battle over patent expiration issues, has been Allergan’s second-best selling product in recent years.Allergan also noted pipeline advances in several therapy areas, including with prospective glaucoma treatment Bimatoprost SR. The company has reported positive topline results from two Phase 3 clinical trials of Bimatoprost SR, a first-in-class sustained-release, biodegradable implant for the reduction of intraocular pressure in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Allergan said it expects to submit an NDA to the FDA in the second half of 2019 for this drug candidate.Allergan reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining investment grade credit ratings and achieving a net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of less than 2.5x by the end of 2020, according to Tuesday's announcement.