Ipsen reports 8.4% sales growth in 1st qtr

Paris, France-based Ipsen announced strong first-quarter results for 2008, featuring an 8.4% increase in sales growth driven by a positive performance from cervical dystonia drug Dysport (botulinum).

Underlying group sales during the reporting quarter were 236.5 million euros ($365.6 million), with a 24% jump in sales to non-European countries bringing turnover outside Europe up to 43.9 million euros. Within Europe, overall sales in Germany rocketed 38% to 16.1 million euros during the period, whereas revenue in the firm's home country dropped 11% to 76.0 million euros, mainly due to a 10% enforced price cut on ginko biloba-based product, Tanakan. The drug, for the enhancement of memory in the elderly, saw a 14% plunge in revenue to 25.6 million euros.

The firm's biggest seller was its oncology drug Decapeptyl (triptorelin pamoate), although growth of the cancer agent remained almost flat, dropping just 0.6% to 60.8 million euros. Beneath that, the aforementioned Dysport grew 25% to 35.6 million euros. The company's endocrinology franchise did well, with Somatuline (lanreotide) advancing 12.6% to 28.4 million euros and NutropinAq (somatropin) making just 7.2 million euros, yet still up 25% year-on-year. Also, new drug Increlex (mecasemin) generated 200,000 euros.