Generics and stronger yen take toll on Takeda's nine-month 2010 earnings

Japan’s largest drugmaker, Takeda Pharmaceuticals (TSE: 4502), posted disappointing results for the first nine months of 2010, with net income plunging 17% to 215.5 billion yen ($2.64 billion), and sales down 4.2% at 1,080 billion yen.

Despite sales growth of the multiple myeloma drug Velcade (bortezomib), up 12.9% to 38.1 billion yen by subsidiary Millennium in the USA, and diabetes agent Actos (pioglitazone), turnover of which edged 0.7% higher to 293.3 billion yen consolidated net turnover declined due to a sharp decrease in sales of the firm’s antiulcerant Prevacid (lansoprazole) caused by the expiry of its patent in the USA and the yen’s appreciation against the US dollar and Euro (negative effects: 44.7 billion yen).

Takeda now projects that sales for the full fiscal 2011 year ending March 31 will reach 1,400 billion yen, based on the assumption of the entry timing of generic versions of Actos in August 2012, and the launch of ACTOplus met (a fixed-dose combination tablet of pioglitazone with metformin) and Duetact (a fixed-dose of pioglitazone with glimepiride) in December 2012.  Net income is forecast at 230 billion yen.