Eisai profit down 38% on MGI acquisition

Japanese drugmaker Eisai's profits plummeted in the third quarter of its fiscal 2009, which ends in March 2009, on costs for the $3.9-billion  acquisition of USA-based MGI Pharma (Marketletter February 4, 2008).

Net income fell to 39.17 billion yen ($427.0 million), a 38% drop on the  same period of the year before, despite sales figures up 7% to 598.7  billion yen, due to goodwill amortization costs for the MGI deal and R&D  spending, which increased 17% to 116.9 billion yen.

The revenue increase was mainly due to strong performance from the  firm's mainstay product Aricept (donepezil) for the treatment of  Alzheimer's disease, sales of which were up 5% to 228.96 billion yen.  The firm's other lead product, proton pump inhibitor anti-ulcerant  Pariet (rabeprazole), however, experienced a setback of 12% to 123.18  billion yen, due to generic competition in North America.