April 30 (Reuters) - Incyte Corp ( INCY ) on Tuesday

reported first-quarter profit below Wall Street estimates on

weak sales of its blood cancer drug Jakafi, sending its shares

down 2.4%.

The company is working on strengthening its pipeline to

counter competition from newly approved drugs, which could

impact sales of Jakafi, the company's biggest-selling drug, as

it nears the loss of exclusivity later this decade.

During the first quarter, the Delaware-based company gained

worldwide exclusive global rights for Monjuvi, approved by the

FDA for the treatment of certain kinds of blood cancer, from

MorphoSys AG.

In April, the company also announced it had entered into a

definitive agreement to acquire Escient Pharmaceuticals, a

clinical-stage company involved in the development of treatment

of various skin diseases.

Sales of Jakafi were down 1% to $571.8 million for the

quarter, compared with analysts' expectations of $615.80

million, according to LSEG data.

Chief Executive Officer Hervé Hoppenot said, "As

anticipated, the revenue growth during the quarter was offset by

an inventory drawdown for Jakafi and the typical first-quarter

net pricing dynamics."

Total revenue for the reported quarter came in at $880.90

million, below estimates of $923.6 million. Revenue generated by

the drugmaker in the first quarter from royalties was $126

million, up 9% from a year earlier.

Incyte ( INCY ) earns product royalty revenues from Novartis AG

for the commercialization of Jakafi outside the United

States and from Eli Lilly ( LLY ) for Olumiant for the treatment

of rheumatoid arthritis.

Opzelura, which is approved in the U.S. to treat vitiligo

and mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis, recorded revenue of

$85.7 million, up 52% from a year earlier. Analysts were

expecting a revenue of $66.60 million.

Excluding items, the U.S. drugmaker earned 64 cents per

share in the quarter, missing estimates of 84 cents per share.