Boehringer Ingelheim outpaces market
pharmafile | April 14, 2008 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â respÂ
Strong growth in respiratory product Spiriva once again led the way for Boehringer Ingelheim, which has just published results for 2007.
The company outperformed the pharmaceutical market average for the eighth year running, with sales in 2007 up 8.8% in local currencies, or 3.6% in euros.
A separate calculation of the company's overall growth made by data specialists IMS Health produced a figure of 7.1% growth, outperforming the market average of 6%.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment Spiriva was once again the star performer for the company, its sales rising 35% in local currency terms to just under 1.8 billion euros. The launch of a new advanced inhaler to deliver the drug, the Respimat Soft Mist Inhaler, helped boost sales of the drug late last year and into early 2008.
The Respimat has already been launched in Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK with further launches to follow this year.
Increasing sales of hypertension treatment Micardis and secondary stroke prevention treatment Aggrenox also helped to support growth, but other forces suppressed revenues over the year.
Chief among these was the sharp fall in sales of arthritis pain drug Mobic in the US, which saw sales fall 340 million euros last year following its 2006 patent expiry.
Meanwhile the strength of the euro also hit earnings made in foreign currencies, including the US dollar and the Japanese yen.
The company's head of finance Professor Marbod Muff said a vital part of the strategy for the company was to remain independent and resist pressure to merge with other companies.
"Lasting independence is only possible if the critical factors, i.e. liquidity, profitability and potential for success of the development pipeline, actually guarantee financial security both now and in the future. In this regard, we see good prospects for our company in the medium to long term," Professor Muff said.
Boehringer Ingelheim is just weeks away from launching a major new product, its new oral direct thrombin inhibitor, Pradaxa.
The drug was recently approved for marketing across the EU, and will be launched in the UK and Germany in the next few weeks.
Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) is approved to prevent venous thromboembolic events in adults who have undergone elective total hip or total knee replacement surgery.
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