Wyeth reports “outstanding” quarterly results

Wyeth, the American pharmaceutical company, has described its third quarterly results for 2006 as “outstanding”.

The quarter was marked by a ten per cent increase in pharmaceuticals net revenue, driven by sales in its pneumococcal vaccine, Prevnar – recently adopted in by the UK vaccination scheme – and Enbrel.

Enbrel, an anti-TNF drug used to treat inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, has turned out to be Wyeth’s best-selling product in Europe, where it achieved sales of $316 million (168 million pounds) over the quarter.

The company reported a worldwide net revenue of $5.1 billion, representing a nine per cent increase on the same period last year.

Robert Essner, chairman and chief executive officer of Wyeth, said that the company was on track to achieving blockbuster sales status (over $1 billion per year) on six of its drugs.

“We continue to see strong sales from our broad product portfolio, led by our biotechnology products Enbrel and Prevnar,” he remarked.

Mr Essner added that the company has increased its earnings guidance for 2006 in response to the quarterly results.

Wyeth recently signed a deal with UK-based biotechnology company Biotica to research rapamycin analogues.

The Cambridge-based company could receive up to $195 million from Wyeth under the terms of the agreement.