Sanofi-Synthelabo profits to rise 30%

Sanofi-Synthelabo says that, given strong sales for the first few monthsof 2001, and barring major adverse events, it expects full-year net profits to grow 30%, not including exceptional items. In 2000, net earnings rose 54% to 961 million euros ($843.2 million).

The company's chief executive, Jean-Francois Dehecq, said that positive results, presented at the recent American College of Cardiology meeting for The Clopidogrel in Unstable Angina to Prevent Recurrent Ischemic Events (CURE) study (Marketletter March 26), should lead to sales of around 4 billion euros in 2005 for the firm's antiplatelet drug Plavix/Iscover (clopidogrel), which is co-marketed with Bristol-Myers Squibb.

He added that 2005 revenue estimates for the antihypertensive Aprovel/Avapro/Karvea (irbesartan) are around 1.5 billion euros and, noting that Sanofi-Synthelabo is due to retrieve the rights from Pharmacia to the hypnotic Stilnox/Ambien/Myslee (zolpidem) in the USA in April 2002, and the gradual build-up of sales for the product in Japan, turnover of the drug is also likely to exceed 1.5 billion euros in 2005.