Abbott tops forecast humira sales jump – China Ultrasonic Injector Cleaner – Heavy Duty DiagnosticT

Abbott tops forecast, Humira sales jump

By Ransdell Pierson of Reutersers

NEW YORK — Abbott Laboratories Inc second-quarter earnings have jumped a higher-than-expected 34 per cent, fuelled by booming sales of its medical devices, Humira arthritis treatment and other drugs.

Based on the results, the suburban Chicago company slightly raised its 2008 profit forecast, saying Humira will generate global sales of more than $4.3 billion this year.

“Abbott did exceptionally well across the board,” said RBC Capital analyst Phil Nalbone, who noted that Humira’s almost 50 per cent sales growth took him by surprise.

Humira, an injectable drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease, has become one of the world’s top-selling medicines and is considered a linchpin of Abbott’s future earnings growth.

The company is also counting heavily on Xience. In clinical trials, the new stent has proven superior to Boston Scientific Corp’s widely used Taxus device, which is also used to prop open arteries that have been cleared of plaque.

Quarterly profit rose to $1.32 billion, or 85 US cents per share, from $989 million, or 63 US cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items, earnings were 84 US cents per share, 5 US cents higher than the analysts’ average forecast, according to Reuters Estimates.

Company officials told analysts on a conference call that half of the earnings “beat” was due to early payments from Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd to end its TAP Pharmaceuticals joint venture with Abbott.

The company said it expected earnings per share of $3.24 to $3.28 this year, excluding special items, up from its earlier outlook of $3.20 to $3.25. The new forecast translates into profit growth of as much as 15.4 per cent.

Abbott shares, which had risen as much as 2.5 per cent in premarket trading, lost their gains during the conference call and were down 1.5 per cent in the afternoon.

Mr Nalbone said shares fell because the company only raised its full-year profit guidance by about 4 US cents a share, although second-quarter results beat consensus forecasts by 5 US cents.

“That made some people worried about the second half of the year,” he said, but dismissed those concerns. “I think the company was just putting out a conservative forecast.”

Quarterly sales jumped almost 15 per cent to $7.31 billion, a bit higher than Wall Street expectations. They would have risen 8.9 per cent if not for the weak dollar, which raises the value of overseas sales.

Global Humira sales soared 48 per cent to $1.09 billion, despite strong competition from Johnson & Johnson’sRemicade and Wyeth’s Enbrel.

Sales of Kaletra, which combines two treatments for HIV, rose almost 13 per cent to $355 million. Niaspan, the most widely used medicine to raise levels of “good” HDL cholesterol, rose 14 per cent to $194 million.

Global sales of medical products jumped almost 15 per cent to $1.8 billion, amid growing demand for diagnostics and for Xience overseas.

US regulators approved Xience earlier this month. It will compete with Taxus, Medtronic’s Endeavor and J&J’s Cypher. The devices all have drug coatings meant to prevent reclogging with scar tissue.

By contrast, the American Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical Index of large US and European drug makers has fallen 15 per cent in the past year as many rivals have failed to develop big-selling products needed to replace ones losing patent protection.

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