SYNTEX' TRI-NORINYL LAUNCH HELPS LIFT CONTRACEPTIVE SALES 25% to $26 MIL. DURING THIRD QUARTER: NAPROSYN, ANAPROX SALES CLIMB 17% TO $95.1 MIL.
Executive Summary
Boosted by the launch of its new low-dose triphasic contraceptive Tri-Norinyl in the U.S., Syntex oral contraceptive sales jumped 25.7% during the third quarter to $25.7 mil. For nine months, Syntex' oral contraceptive sales have climbed 7.2% to $69.8 mil. Overall pharmaceutical sales, led by nonsteroidals Naprosyn and Anaprox, increased 11% to $164.9 mil. during the third quarter. Syntex reported that U.S. drug sales were up 23% to $102.8 mil. for the quarter, while sales outside the U.S. slipped 3.7% to $62.1 mil. For nine months, Syntex pharmaceutical sales are up 7.9% to $467.2 mil. Third quarter Naprosyn and Anaprox sales of $95.1 mil. worldwide represent a 17.3% increase over the same period last year. U.S. sales of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories grew slightly less than in the previous two quarters, up 23.4% to $61.1 mil. Non-U.S. sales of the two drugs began to show growth from the previous year with a 7.6% gain to $34 mil. after declining 1% over the first half of FY 1984. With one quarter remaining in the fiscal year, Naprosyn and Anaprox sales have reached $274.1 mil. in FY 1984 (ended July 31), up 16%. U.S. sales of the two compounds are up 28% to $173.2 mil. for nine months, with non-U.S. sales flat at slightly over $100 mil. Syntex net earnings slipped 10.8% during the quarter to $34.2 mil. on an 8.2% sales gain to $235.9 mil., the firm reported. The firm's Syva diagnostics div. suffered a $6 mil. operating loss during the quarter "principally due to severe competitive pressures," Syntex noted. Also reporting financial results, Jack Eckerd posted a 10.1% sales increase to $650.1 mil. during its third quarter ended April 28 with net income climbing 9.1% to $18 mil. Sales of Eckerd Drug were up 8% to $561.4 mil. with an operating profit of $38.5 mil., up 15.3%. The drug chain reported that "comparable store sales for the quarter for Eckerd Drug units operating more than one full year increased 2.8%." Eckerd's American Video chain moved closer to profitability with operating losses of $2.3 mil. for the quarter on a 24.6% sales increase to $35.4 mil. Chart omitted.
You may also be interested in...
Part D Discount Liability Coming Into Focus: CMS Releases Drug Cost Data
Newly released Medicare Part D data sheds light on the sales hit that branded pharmaceutical manufacturers will face when the coverage gap discount program gets under way in 2011
FDA Skin Infections Guidance Spurs Debate On Endpoint Relevance
FDA appears headed for a showdown with clinicians and the pharmaceutical industry over the proposed new clinical trial endpoints for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, the guidance's approach for justifying a non-inferiority margin and proposed changes in the types of patients that should be enrolled in trials
Shire Hopes To Sow Future Deals With $50M Venture Fund
Specialty drug maker Shire has quietly begun scouting deals with a brand-new $50 million venture fund, the latest of several in-house investment arms to launch with their parent company's pipelines, not profits, as the measure of their worth