Novartis sales
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Double-digit OTC growth drove Novartis Consumer Health first-quarter sales up 4% to $1.82 bil., the firm reports in an April 24 earnings call. "Strong expansion" in OTCs due to the acquisition of Bristol-Myers Squibb's consumer business was one major factor; the purchase, completed in August 2005, brought in brands such as Excedrin and Bufferin pain relievers (1"The Tan Sheet" Sept. 5, 2005, In Brief). Novartis cited a "good" U.S. cough/cold season as a driver of first-quarter revenue; brands include Theraflu, Comtrex and Triaminic. Higher sales of the analgesic Voltaren (diclofenac) in Europe also contributed. Consumer Health operating income increased 60% to $458 mil., mainly due to a $129 mil. gain from the divestment of the Nutrition & Sante functional food business, completed in February 2006 (2"The Tan Sheet" Dec. 5, 2005 In Brief). Overall net sales were up 13% to $8.3 bil., while net income grew 32% to $1.96 bil....
You may also be interested in...
Bristol/Novartis deal
Bristol-Myers Squibb has completed the sale of its U.S. and Canadian Consumer Medicines business to Novartis AG, the firm announces Aug. 31. The transfer of the rights to Bristol's OTC brands in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa should be completed by the end of the year, Bristol says. Novartis adds the Excedrin analgesic line, Bufferin aspirin, No-Doz caffeine pills and others to its current U.S. OTC line-up of brands, which include the Theraflu cough/cold line and Maalox antacids. The sale was announced July 14 (1"The Tan Sheet," July 18, 2005, p. 3)...
New EU Approvals
The Pink Sheet's list of EU centralized approvals of new active substances has been updated to add two new products, including Ryzneuta, Evive Biotechnology's treatment for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia.
Pair Of Deaths Linked To Recalled Vyaire Medical Respiratory Devices
The US FDA has labelled a recall of more than 6 million Airlife respiratory support devices class I. The recall covers devices manufactured in 2017 or earlier that can fail to provide adequate ventilation.