Vaccine sales’ rise boost for Wyeth

WYETH’S first-quarter earnings rose 44% as sales of its vaccine against childhood infections more than doubled and sales of arthritis treatment Enbrel and other prescription drugs rose.

The Madison, New Jersey-based company earned $1.08 billion, or 80 cents a share, compared with $749.7 million, or 55 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates, on average, expected 76 cents a share, which was in line with Wyeth’s own forecast last month of the mid to upper 70-cent range or higher.

Excluding profits from product divestitures, the company earned 73 cents per share in the quarter.

The company’s E1.7bn investment in the Wyeth BioPharma Campuses at Grange Castle outside Dublin to create 3,000 jobs is nearing completion.

Revenue rose 14% to $4.6bn, but would have risen 12% if not for the weak dollar, which raises the value of overseas sales when they are converted back to dollars. Wyeth said sales of Enbrel outside North America soared 75% to $237 million in the quarter, boosted by approval in Europe last September to expand use of the injectable drug to treat psoriasis.

Sales of the Prevnar vaccine to prevent pneumococcal disease in infants and young children more than doubled to $391m, after Wyeth increased manufacturing capacity for the popular treatment.

“Prevnar and Enbrel really over-delivered,” said David Moskowitz, an analyst at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. “I think the company is definitely executing the plans management has talked about and it looks like these trends should continue.”

Sales of anti-depressant Effexor jumped 12% to $868m.

However, Wyeth said the sales growth is tapering off amid concerns that newer depression drugs may raise the risk of suicidal thoughts in children.

Wyeth said it expects full-year earnings to top the upper end of its prior range of earnings between $2.70 and $2.80 a share.