Wyeth says that profits for the three months ending June 2005 rose 18% to $977 million dollars, versus the corresponding quarter of 2004 [[22/07/04c]], on the back of a 12% hike in revenue to $4.7 billion, as the company benefited from strong performances from its key pharmaceutical products, including the arthritis drug, Enbrel (etanercept), the anti-depressant, Effexor XR (venlafaxine extended-release), the pneumococcal disease vaccine, Prevnar and the anti-ulcerant, Protonix (pantoprazole).
The company’s pharmaceuticals unit saw sales increase by 14% during the quarter to $3.9 billion, with Effexor, which the firm says is the world’s number one selling antidepressant, bringing in $889 million – up 7%. Enbrel surged 75% during the three months to $272 million outside North America, where it is marketed by Wyeth. Partner Amgen has the rights to the product in the US region, where sales rose 45% to $639 million, boosted by additional indications approved during the year – most notably, psoriasis [[04/05/04b]]. Protonix sales were up 17% to $454 million, and Prevnar achieved net revenue of $323 million for the second quarter, an increase of 48%. Rapamune (sirolumus) for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in patients receiving kidney transplants saw revenues up by 27% to $71 million, while the Zosyn (piperacillin/tazobactam) antibiotic climbed 26% to $231 million.
The firm is continuing to expect earnings per share for 2005 in the region of $2.80 to $2.90. “Although we are not revising our guidance range at this time,” said Ken Martin, Wyeth’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, “if the current strong business trends continue, full year earnings are more likely to approach or even exceed the upper end of this range.”
