Strong showing for Sanofi-Aventis in 2009
pharmafile | February 11, 2010 | News story | | 2009 financials, Sanofi-Aventis
Sanofi-Aventis made large gains in emerging markets, vaccines and consumer healthcare last year, helping produce 8.5 billion euros in net income for 2009, an increase of 12.8%.
Chief executive Chris Viehbacher identified five key growth factors that have driven profits forward in 2009 and will remain as the fundamental areas of the company’s future.
He cited emerging markets; diabetes brands; vaccines; consumer healthcare; and new products – namely, Multaq and Pentacel, as the company’s key growth drivers and said there were responsible for 50% of the company’s total sales.
These reached 29.3 billion euros for the year, an increase of 5.3%.
The increasing use of emerging markets was a key part of the strategy Viehbacher set out last year and in the last 12 months sales in those countries grew by19% to make up 25% of total sales.
Sanofi says it now has a leading position in Eastern Europe, Latin America and in Africa and the Middle East.
There was also strong growth from the company’s diabetes brands: Lantus, Apidra, Amaryl and Isuman, which collectively rose 19.4% with its biggest seller Lantus insulin up 22.5% to 3.08 billion euros.
Viehbacher announced that diabetes care will become a consistent element of Sanofi’s future plans and he wants the company to overtake diabetes specialist Novo Nordisk in market share.
Sanofi in vaccines
There is “no better investment than vaccines”, Viehbacher said, announcing that the 19% up-tick in sales would be a figure for Sanofi to build upon in 2010 and beyond.
The high volume of sales for Sanofi’s A/H1N1 vaccine boosted this figure with 100 million doses sold in the fourth quarter, and the company also sold 180 million doses of its seasonal flu vaccine.
When asked if vaccines sales were expected to drop dramatically in 2010 as pandemic fears decline, Sanofi’s head of R&D Marc Cluzel argued that a ‘third wave’ of swine flu was still possible and that vaccinations for other influenza strains would remain necessary.
Consumer healthcare
Sanofi’s consumer healthcare division saw its biggest-ever growth in 2009, with sales rising 26.8% to 1.43 billion euros.
Viehbacher’s hopes for the area continue to grow following Sanofi’s recent investment in US company Chattem, in which Sanofi now has a 90% stake and are finalising the acquisition of the remaining 10% of shares.
Generics and Sanofi’s evolving business model
Generics provided some threat to Sanofi’s sales, in particular to Eloxatin in the US and Plavix in Europe.
Sales of colon cancer treatment Eloxatin (oxaliplatin) fell 37.2% to 677 million euros and Plavix (clopidogrel), indicated to reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke in PAD patients, dropped 10.4% to 1.51 billion euros.
Viehbacher was sanguine about the necessary challenge pharma faces from generics and said Sanofi’s business model must evolve meet the demands of consistency and move away from an over-reliance on blockbusters drugs.
He aims to “get off the treadmill of patent expiry” and want instead to build Sanofi’s products into a well-known and trusted series of brands that will appeal to consumers even after patents have been lost.
In the long-term Viehbacher is looking to increase R&D innovation at Sanofi through a limited use of outsourcing and also by removing sub-levels of management in research departments.
In 2009 Sanofi removed 11 management levels to six in order to keep its scientists “involved in the science and not the game of management”.
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