Boehringer Ingelheim first-half 2012 sales up 6.8%

German family-owned drug major Boehringer Ingelheim yesterday reported that, for the first half of 2012, currency-adjusted sales increased by 6.8% compared with the previous year to 7.1 billion euros ($9.5 billion). The company did not provide any figures on profits.

The increased sales were driven by the established respiratory tract medication Spiriva (tiotropium) and Combivent (ipratropium and salbutamol), both of which experienced double-digit growth, as well as by the newly introduced oral anticoagulant Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate) and the new diabetes drug Trajenta (linagliptin).

Business environment increasingly difficult