Oct 31 (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Regeneron

Pharmaceuticals ( REGN ) beat Wall Street estimates for

third-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday, driven by strong

demand for its eczema treatment Dupixent and blockbuster eye

disease drug Eylea.

Regeneron has been looking to upgrade patients who use Eylea

to a high-dose version, as the drug that has long been its cash

cow faces the threat of biosimilar products and stiff

competition from rivals, including Roche's Vabysmo.

Swiss drugmaker Roche reaffirmed its full-year profit

forecast while beating quarterly estimates for sales last week,

banking on strong demand for Vabysmo.

Total U.S. net sales of Eylea, jointly developed with Bayer

AG, rose 3% to $1.54 billion, including $392 million

from the higher, 8-milligram dose version of the drug.

The high-dose version of the eye disease drug was launched

in August 2023 and allows for longer intervals between

injections for patients.

Regeneron's total revenue of $3.72 billion beat expectations

of $3.67 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The drugmaker's anti-inflammatory drug Dupixent posted sales

of $3.82 billion, beating estimates of $3.78 billion. French

partner Sanofi records Dupixent sales and profits are

split equally between the companies.

Dupixent is currently approved to treat six disease types

including asthma, a skin condition called atopic dermatitis and

most recently as an add-on treatment for chronic obstructive

pulmonary disease.

The company reported an adjusted profit of $12.46 per share

for the quarter, above estimates of $11.69 per share.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika

Syamnath)