Boehringer bets on Pradaxa to fill portfolio gaps
pharmafile | April 6, 2011 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Boehringer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pradaxa
Boehringer Ingelheim has identified Pradaxa as one of the cornerstones of its “new growth phase” as the manufacturer seeks to fill the gap left by patent expiries.
Pradaxa (dabigatran) has recently been approved in the US and elsewhere for stroke prevention in adults with atrial fibrillation, broadening its use from an original indication of preventing venous thrombo-embolism (VTE) after hip and knee replacement surgery.
Boehringer said it expects to receive further approvals in Europe for Pradaxa, which it singled out for praise during its annual press conference.
The company also highlighted the potential of its dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor diabetes treatment linagliptin, which it expects the first approvals for later in the year.
Boehringer recently partnered with Lilly to moves further into diabetes with a new agreement that will involve two of Lilly’s experimental basal insulin analogues.
Presenting the company’s results chairman Andreas Barner noted that “the last business year was a year of transition”.
Overall, pharma was responsible for 93% of Boehringer’s sales in 2010 (11.7 billion euros) with prescription medicines accounting for 9.7 billion euros.
The Americas continue to be the company’s most fruitful region, with 5.7 billion euro in sales (down from 6.3 billion euros in 2009) representing nearly half of all revenue.
Boehringer had already signalled that it would not achieve high growth rates, which Barner explained was “due to patent expiries and the associated competition from generics, launch preparations for new products and regulatory changes in the markets”.
Despite this, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease medicine Spiriva brought in 2.9 billion, up 19.1% year on year and still holding on to its position as the company’s biggest seller.
Other success stories were its blood pressure treatment Micardis, which increased sales by 11.6%, and Combivent (COPD and bronchial asthma) which was up 11.2%.
Meanwhile consumer health grew 4.5% in 2010 to 1.3 billion euros, with most of the growth coming from China, Brazil and Russia.
Boehringer insists its pipeline is looking good and sales are on track, with “robust” overall growth of mid-single digit percent expected in 2011.
Adam Hill
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