Analysts expectant on future prospects for Canada's Axcan Pharma

Axcan Pharma, the Canada-based specialty drugs firm that focuses ongastroenterology, has been the subject of two recent analysts' reports which commend the firm for its impressive pipeline and numerous near-term revenue drivers.

The first comes from Thomas Weisel Partners, which has initiated coverage on Axcan with a buy rating and a 12-month price target of C$18.00. The report notes that the Quebec firm posted revenues of $87.5 million in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000, which constituted a 133% rise on the previous year, while net earnings grew to $4.9 million, a four-fold jump.

Growth at the company has been driven by the acquisition of the US firm Scandipharm in August 1999, through which Axcan acquired a strong sales force, and its decision (in November of the same year) to buy the 50% stake held by Schwarz Pharma in the companies' joint venture. Axcan now has a 98-strong sales force which maintains strong relationships with the 7,500 gastroenterologists in the USA and Canada, and this helped push sales of the pancreatic enzymes Ultrase and Viokase (both pancrelipase) and Urso 250 (ursodiol) for certain cholestatic liver diseases.