Ipsen nine-months sales up 8.8%

Paris, France-headquartered Ipsen says that sales for the first nine months of 2006 increased 7.3% to 651.2 million euros ($817.1 million), with targeted therapeutics - notably its endocrinology franchise - leaping 14.9% to 336.6 million euros. Primary care products rose 2.6% to 291.0 million euros, with all products seeing growth, except Ginkor Fort, a gingko biloba-based product, which has been impacted by a reduction in French reimbursement from 35% to 15%, as well as a 15% reduction on the entire veinotonic class of drugs.

Turnover in major western European markets reached 411.8 million euros, a slight 0.6% rise year-on-year, while sales in the rest of the world grew 24.0% to 98.3 million euros, the firm said. Ipsen chief executive Jean-Luc Belingard noted that the groups is adding two new products to its oncology and endocrinology pipeline, Acapodene (toremifene) and Increlex (mecasermin), and these are expected to drive growth in the near future.