Boehringer Ingelheim , the private German pharmaceutical company, has witnessed a prosperous first half of the year, with sales up 22% to 4.5 billion euros, driven by new products.
BI recently launched Aptivus (tipranavir) in the USA to treat HIV/AIDS [[24/06/05d]], and is expecting big things from this drug but, in the meantime, its respiratory product Spiriva (tiotropium bromide) is putting in an excellent performance – up from 185 million euros in the first half of 2004 to 412 million following its launch in the USA and Japan. The blood pressure drug, Micardis (telmisartan), also took off, with sales jumping 50% to 365 million euros, but the company is less optimistic about its big earning rheumatism drug, Mobic (meloxicam). Although it reeled in an impressive 426 million euros, BI says sales of this drug are “unlikely to play an important part in the company’s future plans,” with generic competition on the horizon in the USA.
BI now anticipates full year growth “well in excess of the previous year(’s)” figure of 10%, likely outpacing the rest of the pharmaceutical industry.
