“We expect this growth to be mitigated later in the year through savings and productivity initiatives I will speak to shortly.”

In context

“nt starts in multiple sclerosis. SOTYKTU sales performed in line with our expectation. During the quarter, we delivered on our goal of achieving roughly 10,000 commercially paid prescriptions. Sales in the quarter reflected increased demand and expanded commercial access. In addition, we expect to add another large PBM later this year that will expand access coverage by approximately 30 million lives. Now turning to Slide 15. I will walk you through the remainder of our P&L, and my comments will be on a non-GAAP basis. As expected, gross margin decreased compared to the prior year, primarily due to product mix. Excluding acquired in-process R&D, first quarter operating expenses increased mainly due to the impact of the recent acquisitions and higher cost to support the overall portfolio. We expect this growth to be mitigated later in the year through savings and productivity initiatives I will speak to shortly. Other income and expense declined as expected in the first quarter, primarily due to lower PD-1 royalty rate and the financing costs associated with the recent transactions. Acquired in-process R&D in the quarter was $12.9 billion, primarily due to the previously disclosed onetime charge of $12.1 billion for the Karuna transaction and $800 million for SystImmune. Our tax rate in the quarter was impacted by the onetime nondeductible in-process R&D charge for Karuna. Before the impact of acquired in-process R&D, our first quarter earnings would have been $1.89. Taking into account the impact from the recent transactions, including acquired in-process R&D, we reported an earnings per share loss of $4.40. Now moving to the balance sheet and capital allocation on Slide 16. Cash flow fro”