Sanofi’s performance dives
pharmafile | May 3, 2013 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Q1, Sanofi
Sanofi suffered a grim first three months of 2013, with sales dipping and profit plummeting as loss of exclusivity took a heavy toll.
The French pharma group’s net sales were down 5.3% to €8 billion in Q1, but profit dropped through the floor to €1.6 billion – a fall of 33.5% on the same period in 2012.
The end of patent protection last year on blockbusters such as blood thinner Plavix and hypertension drug Avapro, will make an €800 million dent in revenue in the first half of the year, Sanofi acknowledges.
Pharma sales were €6.8 billion, down 4.4%, which the company says reflected generic competition and EU austerity measures.
But chief executive Christopher Viehbacher repeated his assertion made last year that the group expected to return to growth in the second half of 2013.
Sanofi is aware that it is in a scrap for revenue now and has already forecast modest growth between 2012 and 2015, saying it expects a compound growth rate of 5% for the period.
“Our growth platforms continue to deliver strong results with diabetes, vaccines, and Genzyme all achieving double-digit growth,” Viehbacher went on.
Sales in Sanofi’s diabetes franchise rose 19.6%, vaccines were up 15.9% while its subsidiary Genzyme saw sales rise 25.5% between January and March.
Diabetes treatment Lyxumia, bowel cancer drug Zaltrap and 6-in-1 pediatric vaccine Hexyon have all been approved in Europe, while multiple sclerosis treatment Aubagio has received a positive opinion from the CHMP.
Approval of Lyxumia gives extra bulk to a diabetes portfolio that already contains the world’s biggest seller, Lantus (insulin glargine).
“We look forward to the Phase III data releases for several pipeline projects later this year, including our new insulin glargine formulation and alirocumab,” Viehbacher said.
Results from the late-stage trial in the new formulation of insulin glargine are expected in June.
Adam Hill
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