Strong Sales At Sanofi In 4th Qtr

In 1996, French health and beauty products company Sanofi achievedturnover of 23.64 billion French francs ($422.45 million), an increase of 2.4% based on a comparable group structure, or 3.2% when also taken at constant exchange rates. In the 1996 fourth quarter, sales grew 4.1% at CER, it was noted.

The health care segment achieved sales of 19.84 billion francs, up 3.8% or 4.9% at CER. Within the division, the pharmaceutical business continued to develop thanks to the favorable sales growth of major products, said Sanofi. Consolidated sales of Sanofi's 10 leading products increased 7% in 1996, despite the generic competition for its non-steroidal treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, Plaqenil (hydroxychloroquine sulfate), in the USA.

Turnover of Sanofi's platelet aggregation inhibitor Ticlid (ticlopidine) totaled 4.8 billion francs. The firm remarked that growth was limited to 3.5% owing to the negative impact of the yen/franc exchange rate. Revenues for the antiepileptic agent Depakine (sodium valproate) were 3 billion francs, up 30%, turnover of Cardarone (amiodarone) increased 27% to 1.6 billion francs, and the low molecular weight heparin Fraxiparine (nadroparin) achieved sales of 1.4 billion francs, up 8%.