Takeda first-half profits soar on the back of strong sales overseas

Japan's largest drugmaker, Takeda Chemical Industries, has posted netincome for the fiscal half-year ended September 30, 2001, of 130.85 billion yen ($1.07 billion), a rise of 45.3% compared with the like, year-earlier period, and well ahead of the firm's earlier forecast of 109 billion yen. Sales increased 7.7% to 510.52 billion yen.

Growth was driven by very strong demand for Takeda's diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone) in the USA, while domestically, the antiulcerant Takepron (lansoprazole) and the firm's antihypertensive Blopress (candesartan) performed well. Revenues from these three drugs helped to offset the impact of the withdrawal of the licensed-in cholesterol-lowerer Certa (cerivastatin), developed by Germany's Bayer as Baycol/Lipobay (Marketletters passim) and the cerebral circulation improver Calan (vinpocetine).

Earnings unaffected by TAP fine