(Reuters) - British drugmaker Indivior Plc on Thursday warned it could post a loss for the full year, as it faces steep market share losses for its top opioid addiction treatment and a multi-billion criminal charge in the United States.
The company, which was indicted last month for illegal marketing of Suboxone film, said it expects net revenue to halve to a range of $525 million (£402 million) to $575 million.
It expects results to come in between a loss of $40 million and a profit of $10 million this year. For comparison, the company reported revenue of over $1 billion and net income of $275 million for 2018.
The company, which gets 80 percent of its sales from the United States, had gained from the government's stepped up efforts to combat an opioid epidemic. However, it faces a slump in Suboxone sales with the arrival of new copycat drugs this year and an indictment seeking $3 billion in fines.
Indivior has now pinned its hopes on its long-lasting opioid addiction Sublocade injection to make up Suboxone's market share losses.
Sublocade injection sales rose to $11 million in the first quarter, up from $7 million in the fourth quarter.
Indivior said it was on track to meet its expectations for Sublocade sales of between $50 million and $70 million.
(Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
