New drug sales boost AHP's 1st-qtr profits

American Home Products says first-quarter 2001 income and dilutedearnings per share rose nearly 16% to $733.6 million, or $0.55 (excluding termination costs of the aborted Warner-Lambert merger), which was in line with analysts' expectations. Group sales advanced 8% to $3.45 billion, with revenues from human pharmaceuticals increasing 12% to $2.72 billion.

Leading growth in pharmaceuticals were new products such as Prevnar (pneumococcal heptavalent conjugate vaccine), launched in first-quarter 2000, and Protonix (pantoprazole), introduced in the second quarter of last year, as well as the Premarin range (conjugated estrogens) and Effexor XR (venlafaxine), on higher volume and additional market share of new prescriptions. However, these gains were partly offset by lower sales of Meningitec (conjugate vaccine against Group C meningococcal disease), oral contraceptives and Ziac (bisoprolol) due to generic competition. Meningitec was launched in the USA in late-1999 and in the UK in 2000, and is currently being rolled out in other European countries.

According to chief executive John Stafford, "the first quarter...was marked by the company's focus on becoming a world leader in research-based pharmaceuticals, as is evidenced by our 10% increase in R&D expenditures" (to $451 million).