Actelion announces Q1 results

Biopharmaceutical firm Actelion saw its operating profit hit 67.8 million Swiss francs (CHF) – equivalent to around 33.8 million pounds – in the first quarter (Q1) of 2008, according to the company’s latest financial results.

The figure compares with an operating loss of 151.5 million CHF recorded in the same period a year ago.

In the opening three months of 2008, Actelion’s total net revenue stood at 321.6 million CHF, up 11 per cent from a first quarter figure of 290.4 million CHF in 2007.

Much of the rise in operating profits appears to have been achieved through year-on-year drop in operating expenses. In the first quarter of 2007, costs stood at 441.9 million CHF, but in the corresponding period this year, they dropped to 253.8 million CHF.

This is despite the company posting a rise in research and development costs for the first quarter of 2008 – 85.6 million CHF compared with 65.7 million CHF in Q1 2007 – as well as higher sales and administration expenses – 121 million CHF between January and March 2008 compared to 117.1 million CHF in the same period a year earlier.

Actelion manufacturers the Tracleer treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension and Zavesca, which is used to tackle type one Gaucher disease. The company currently employs around 1,685 people in divisions including drug discovery and clinical development.