Takeda Posts Q3 Financials, Boosted by Nesina and Pantoprazole Sales
Takeda Pharmaceuticals have revealed reasonable financial results for the first nine months of their fiscal year, regardless of the major drop in sales of their diabetes drug, Actos.
Japan’s largest drugmaker’s net income for the April-December period dropped 13.5% to 138.91 billion (around $1.51 billion), however sales increased by 5.5% to 1.189 trillion yen. Actos (pioglitazone), which plunged 53.9% to 109.20 billion yen, is now off-patent and has received cautions from both US and European regulators concerning an increased (but small) possibility of the patient developing bladder cancer.
Sales of the organisation’s blood pressure drug, Blopress (candesartan cilexetil), fell 21.3% to 132.90 billion yen, while the prostate and breast cancer treatment Leuplin (leuprorelin) decreased by 5.5% to 87.70 billion yen. The gastrointestinal drug Prevacid/Takepron (lansoprazole) dropped 7.8% to 85.60 billion yen.
On the positive side, US sales of Velcade (bortezomib) were up 26.8% to 53.90 billion yen. The peptic ulcer treatment, pantoprazole, which was attained from Takeda’s acquisition of Nycomed in 2011, brought in 56.50 billion yen, an increase of 170.7%.
The company’s sales figures were also improved by sales in Japan of Takeda’s new diabetes drug Nesina (alogliptin), which soared 151.4% to 25.80 billion yen. Last week, Nesina, plus two combinations of the drug – Oseni (alogliptin/pioglitazone) and Kazono (alogliptin/metformin), was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).