Earnings watch

Profitable biotechs were three-for-three with two extra base hits and a single on second quarter earnings reported Wednesday. Both Serono (SRA; SWX:SEO) and Chiron (CHIR) beat their respective Street estimates while QLT (QLTI; TSE:QLT) met its expectations.

The group was led by SRA, which posted EPS of $0.16, $0.03 better than the Street's $0.13 EPS estimate. SRA's top and bottom line were driven by increased sales of its multiple sclerosis therapy, Rebif interferon beta-1a, and its Gonal-F recombinant FSH fertility treatment. Second quarter sales of Rebif grew by 58% in local currencies to $90.7 million from $60.9 million in the second quarter last year. Gonal-F sales rose 22.5% to $114.7 million from $97.1 million. ...