OSI's Tarceva earns $25.0M in 4th-qtr 2005

The USA's OSI Pharmaceuticals says that international sales of its flagship product Tarceva (erlotinib) were $25.0 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2005. Analysts at Lehman Brothers has forecast global revenues for the lung cancer drug of $1.38 billion by 2009.

Swiss drug major Roche, OSI's international partner for the agent, received approval from the European Commission last year (Marketletter September 26, 2005), and the drug has since been launched in several European countries including Germany and the UK's private health care market, as well as France, with launches in more countries scheduled throughout the year.

Total worldwide 2005 net sales of Tarceva were $309.0 million, which includes the fourth quarter revenues recorded by Roche, and total US net sales of $275.0 million as reported previously by US biotechnology major Genentech, OSI's domestic collaborator. Roche says it will file for the drug in second-line non-small cell lung cancer with Japanese regulators later this year.