Serono's net income up 8% in 2nd-qtr

Swiss biotechnology group Serono says that its second-quarter 2006 net income was $189.2 million, up 8.1% on the like, year-ago quarter, as basic earnings per share rose 7.5% to $12.92 per bearer share and $0.32 per American Depositary Share, while operating income leapt 21.1% to $203.0 million.

The Geneva-based firm noted that its total revenues increased 3.3%, or 3.9% in local currencies, to $699.2 million, while product sales grew 2.8% to $628.7 million. Excluding the impact of the divestment of a non-core business in 2005 and the emergence in April of generics for the multiple sclerosis and anticancer drug Novantrone (mitoxantrone), which Serono co-promotes with OSI, revenue growth was 7% and royalty and license income rose 8.0% to $70.5 million. Serono's MS drug Rebif (interferon beta-1a) netted $361.6 million, up 10.9%; Saizen (somatropin) sales were up 7.6% at $53.8 million; and Serostim (somatropin [rDNA origin] for injection) was unchanged at $17.3 million. Turnover of Raptiva (efalizumab) rose 24.3% to $17.0 million.