Having announced a 6.8% rise in 2006 sales to 861.7 million euros last month, French drugmaker Ipsen says that consolidated profits fell 3% last year to 144 million euros.

The company said that the results reflected “severe price pressure in major European countries,” a poor performance of the firm's gingko biloba extract Ginkor Fort in France and the negative impact of one-off items such as 8.4 million euros paid to Inamed for the recovery of all rights related to the anti-wrinkle treatment Reloxin/Dysport (botulinum toxin type A) and a 7.3 million-euro impairment charge relating to the testosterone gel Testim.

Chief Executive Jean-Luc Belingard said that 2006, which Ipsen ended with 253 million euros in cash, was a good year for the firm, and 2007 “will be yet another year of rich events” as it has five filings currently under review. These include Somatuline Autogel (lanreotide) for the treatment of acromegaly which was filed with the US Food and Drug Administration at the beginning of the year.

However Ipsen is most excited by the prospects for Dysport and in order to support its European filing, it has decided, in conjunction with new partner Galderma, to include in its marketing authorisation application, the full results of clinical studies in the product’s efficacy and safety carried out by US partner Medicis. Furthermore, Ipsen will submit two new applications for Reloxin, thus “defining our strategic approach to the distribution of our botulinum toxin in therapeutic indications in the USA,” as it competes with Allergan’s market-leading Botox (also botulinum toxin type A) product, Mr Belingard concluded.