Celltech Group moves into the black

Celltech Group of the UK has moved into the black for the first half of2000 by posting pretax profits of L10.7 million ($15 0 million) before exceptional items, compared with losses of L5.8 million in the corresponding period last year. However, when including the aforementioned charges (associated with the acquisitions of Chiroscience and Medeva; Marketletters passim), the company's loss was L382.6 million and pro forma sales and royalties for the six-month period increased slightly to L114.5 million.

The group's structure is still somewhat complicated, and results for Celltech Chiroscience and Celltech Medeva were issued additionally. The former's turnover rose 42.7% to L12.7 million, helped by the succesful launch in the USA of Mylotarg (gemtuzumab) for acute myeloid leukaemia, which is sold by American Home Products and has already generated total sales of $3.8 million.

Celltech Medeva contributed L101.8 million to the group's coffers, excluding the proposed L55 million sale of its vaccine business to PowderJect Pharmaceuticals (Marketletter September 11). The group's chief executive, Peter Fellner, said that "substantial progress has been achieved in restructuring and integrating the Celltech Medeva pharmaceutical business," and announced that a new chief executive, Simon Cartmell (who was previously chief operating officer at Vernalis), has been appointed as part of its strategy to expand Celltech's presence in major European markets and in the USA.