Wyeth profit up on strong sales

Wyeth said yesterday that strong sales of the company's drugs for inflammatory diseases and vaccine for pneumococcal disease in infants drove a 9.5 percent increase in second-quarter sales and a 12.6 percent increase in net income.

The company's second-quarter profit reached $1.2 billion, or 87 cents a share, on revenue of $5.65 billion. In the same period a year ago, Wyeth reported sales of $5.16 billion and net income of $1.06 billion, or 78 cents a share.

Despite the strong results, shares in the Madison, N.J., company with pharmaceutical headquarters in Collegeville, fell 28 cents, or 0.49 percent, to close at $56.33 yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange. However, the shares have gained 26 percent over the last 12 months, well ahead of the 14 percent gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 pharmaceutical index.

Wyeth's chief operating officer, Bernard Poussot, highlighted the growth of biotech drugs over the last five years from almost nothing to one-third of the company's sales.

"We've made huge investments in the last five to seven years to become the third-largest producer of biotechnology product," Poussot said in an interview. "That's definitely a reason why our numbers are so strong."

Sales of the biotech drug Enbrel - which treats rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases - outside the United States and Canada were $508 million in the quarter, a 37 percent gain from last year.

Enbrel's sales in the United States and Canada will be released next week by Amgen Inc., Wyeth's marketing partner, Wyeth said.

Prevnar - a vaccine that is Wyeth's second-biggest product by revenue - climbed to $633 million, 22 percent more than last year's second-quarter sales, the company said.

Overall, prescription-drug revenue increased 11 percent, to $4.75 billion.

Wyeth, which employs about 6,000 in Collegeville and Malvern, said its outlook was good, with the potential for seven new products getting regulatory approval over the next 18 months.

Lybrel, a new oral contraceptive taken every day, and Torisel, a treatment for renal-cell carcinoma, are being launched this month, Poussot said.