Sales
of Cialis increase 22% from last year
July 22, 2006
The impotence drug Cialis,
sold by a joint venture between Eli Lilly and
Bothell-based Icos, had $233.2 million in worldwide
sales in the second quarter, a 22 percent increase
over the same period a year ago.
The joint venture said Friday it made a profit
of $75.8 million in the second quarter, compared
with a net loss of $1.7 million in the second
quarter of 2005.
The companies said the market for impotence
drugs grew in the second quarter, and Cialis
continued to grab incremental gains in market
share. Profit grew, in part because the joint
venture cut its spending on sales, general and
administrative work by $36 million.
Icos, which reports its own quarterly financial
results Aug. 3, saw its shares rise more than
5 percent to $21.44 on the news. The stock remains
near the lower end of its 52-week range.
In the United States, the world's largest market
for impotence drugs, Cialis
had a 26.1 percent market share last month,
a 2.8 percent increase over June 2005, according
to IMS Health.
Lilly Icos is aiming to build Cialis sales
by offering it as a once-a-day treatment for
impotence for frequent users, and has submitted
applications to regulators in Europe and Canada.
It is also running studies of Cialis as a treatment
for enlarged prostate, hypertension, and pulmonary
arterial hypertension. It expects to see results
from a midstage hypertension study this year.
Paul Latta, an analyst for McAdams Wright Ragen
in Seattle, said that it was an "excellent
quarter" for the joint venture. The results
beat his forecast of $220 million in worldwide
sales, and a joint venture profit of $54.5 million.
He cautioned, however, that quarterly swings
in joint-venture expenses, Cialis price increases,
and pharmacy stocking have led to uneven results.
Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology
/2003144073_cialis22.html?syndication=rss
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