Biogen ups 2007 income guide, on sales gains

USA-based biotechnology company Biogen Idec says that its 2007 profit will be higher than previously forecast, due to sales growth in the final few months of the year. The New York-headquartered firm now expects earnings for the year to be in the $2.60 to $2.70 range, ahead of the prior guidance of between $1.84 and $1.94 per share.

Biogen said that the revised estimate, which is in line with the consensus $2.62 per share prediction of a Thomson Financial analyst survey, was largely a result of gains made by key products such as the cancer drug Rituxan (rituximab), and the multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri (natalizumab).

The positive news is in contrast with last month, when Biogen's share price fell sharply after it revealed that it would remain an independent company having failed to attract a buyer (Marketletter December 17, 2007). The new guidance saw the firm's share price rise 7.2% to close at $59.22 in trading on the Nasdaq on January 7, the day on which the forecast was announced.