Boeh Ingelheim sales leap 17.3% in Japan

Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim, the Japanese subsidiary of the independent German BI group, posted turnover of 137.6 billion yen ($1.14 billion) for 2006, on a National Health Insurance price basis, resulting in a compound annual growth rate of 11.2% since 2003, the firm announced at a Tokyo press conference.

The good performance, which was attributed to remarkable sales growth in its mainstay products such as Micardis (telmisartan) with an increase of 33% versus a year ago, Spiriva (tiotropium bromide), which rose118%, BI-Sifrol (pramipexole HCl hydrate), which leapt 56% and Alesion (epinastatin), up 15%. The firm boosted its rank in the Japanese pharmaceutical market from 21st (eighth among foreign affiliates) to 18th (seventh), commanding a 1.8% market share. The growth rate of 17.3% was highest among the leading 20 companies in Japan, while the market shrank 0.6% on average, according to the IMS data. In order to maximize the sales potential of its three mainstay products, the company said it plans to increase the number of sales representatives by 100 to 1,000 within the current year.