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Drugs sector results boost
Heather Tomlinson and Charlotte Moore
Thursday July 22, 2004
The Guardian
Pfizer, the world's largest drugs
firm, tried to reassure investors about the prospects for the industry
yesterday as it reported second quarter sales up 24% to $12.3bn
(£6.7bn).
The company makes anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor, which tops the world sales league and increased sales 17% to $2.4bn in the second quarter.
Pfizer chairman and chief executive Hank McKinnell claimed that recent sales of Lipitor's rivals, Zetia and Crestor, "looked like a flat line". AstraZeneca, the UK firm that makes Crestor, is due to publish its results today.
Pfizer said last week that its full-year revenues would be less
than expected, which unnerved investors. Yesterday it blamed the
cut in revenue forecasts on the lack of respiratory infections in
the United States last winter, competition against its Viagra
drug and foreign exchange rate movements. Savings from last
year's merger with Pharmacia mean the firm has held its profit forecasts
but cut about 10,000 jobs worldwide. Pfizer's second quarter underlying
profits were up 54% to $3.6bn.
Three other US drugs firms - Merck, Schering-Plough and Wyeth - also reported results which soothed some analysts' fears. "The lack of anything significantly bad is enticing investors back into pharma," said one.
Merck and Schering-Plough are awaiting approval for anticholesterol drug Vytorin, which will also increase competition in the market.
Meanwhile Roche, the Swiss drug manufacturer, said it is growing faster than the market and reported sales up 13% to 14.6bn Swiss francs (£6.3bn) for its first half.
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Chairman and chief executive Franz Humer told Reuters that a merger with Swiss rival Novartis, which has snapped up about a third of Roche's shares, "makes no sense".
British biotechnology company Evolutec said yesterday it would use the funds raised from its flotation on the Alternative Investment Market to develop a revolutionary hayfever treatment which is based on a compound found in tick saliva.
The initial public offering raised £5.7m through the sale of 4.56m shares at 125p each and increased its market capitalisation to £12.7m.
The cash will be used to fund drug trials of Evolutec's tick saliva compound, rEV131, for the treatment of allergic reactions including hayfever. source :-http://www.guardian.co.uk | 
