Sales rise offsets AstraZeneca profits

Pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca today overcame dismay at regulatory glitches for a key new drug by reporting a 7% hike in third-quarter sales.

AstraZeneca said it achieved turnover of $5.27bn (€4.2bn) despite weaker demand from American wholesalers who stockpiled medicines during the previous year.

Profits grew by 15% at constant exchange rates to $1.27bn (€1bn) – helped by a slowdown in the rate of growth in costs incurred in developing new products.

The group added that it was making an $80m (€63.5m) charge against blood-thinning drug Exanta, which US regulators provisionally rejected last month.

Exanta was seen as one of its key drivers of future growth that would tap a market for blood-thinning treatments worth $4bn (€3.2bn) a year.

But US regulators sought more information on the drug amid fears that it could cause liver failure in patients over the long term.

Regulators also raised concerns that patients were more likely to suffer heart attacks when Exanta was used after knee surgery, leading analysts to rate the chances of US approval for the drug at just 10%.

Chief executive Sir Tom McKillop said today: “Despite the recent disappointment with Exanta, the business is performing well in the second half.”

Sales of cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor surged to $260m (€206.5m) between July and September and totalled $596m (€473.3m) in 2004 so far.

Since its launch last year, more than 11 million prescriptions of the drug have been dispensed around the world, AstraZeneca said.

The Anglo-Swedish company needs strong performances from its newer products to offset the impact of copycat versions of some of its other drugs, including older ulcer treatment Prilosec.

Sales of its key growth products, which also includes ulcer treatment Nexium, were estimated to have risen 35% to $8.02bn (€6.4bn) in the first nine months of 2004.

Demand for Nexium in the United States was weaker than a year ago because wholesalers opted to reduce their excess stocks of the drug before placing new orders.

As a result, US sales of Nexium were down 17% compared with a 34% rise in other parts of the world.

The drug is currently being launched in an intravenous form in Europe, with US approval expected early next year.