Sciele Pharma reaffirms 2007 guidance

US drugmaker Sciele Pharma says that, including the impact of a $0.10 per share charge, its 2007 revenue will be in the $375-$385.0 million range, on diluted earnings per share of between $1.53 and $1.58. The firm also said that it expects 2008 sales to reach between $440.0 million and $455.0 million, with EPS in the $1.97 to $2.07 range.

Sciele also revealed plans to launch several new products this year, including four new formulations of the hypertension treatment Sular (nisoldipine), which were recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (Marketletter September 17, 2007). Jason Napodano, a senior analyst at Zacks investment research, issued a buy rating for the company, citing its broad pipeline as providing considerable opportunity for growth. He also forecast that the firm would achieve EPS of $2.17 in 2008.