Ipsen's FY 2006 sales rise 6.8% to $1.15B

In full-year 2006, French drugmaker Ipsen's sales reached 861.7 million euros ($1.15 billion), up 6,8% compared to 2005, driven by the 7.6% growth of drug sales. The firm's operating income reached 187.2 million euros, up 1.0% year-on-year, despite severe price pressure in major European countries, a poor performance of Ginkor Fort in France and a negative impact of one-off items such as a non-recurring payment of 8.4 million euros to Inamed for the recovery of all rights related to Reloxin (botulinum A toxin) and a 7.3 million-euro impairment charge relating to Testim (testosterone).

According to Ipsen, its strong performance was driven by healthy income from its targeted therapy areas - oncology, endocrinology, neuromuscular disorders - as well as positive sales momentum in international markets despite downward price pressures in major western European countries negatively impacting sales by 19.4 million euros over the period.