Forest Laboratories posts second-quarter earnings

Forest Laboratories has published its financial results for the second financial quarter of 2009, revealing that its diluted earnings per share equalled $0.61 (37p) during this timeframe.

Net sales for the quarter rose by 40 per cent from $925.6 million to $962.7 million when compared to the same period of 2008.

Sales of Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate), a treatment for major depressive disorder in adults and adolescents, reached $566.0 million – a drop of 3.1 per cent from the same time last year.

However, sales of its Alzheimer’s disease drug Namenda rose to $275.3 million during the quarter, representing an increase of 11.9 per cent on the second quarter of 2008.

Meanwhile, sales of $10.2 million were recorded for the company’s latest product, the selective serotonin norepinephrine dual reuptake inhibitor for the management of fibromyalgia, Savella (milnacipran HCl).

Earlier this week, a trial conducted into Savella (milnacipran HCI) found that its usage can result in fibromyalgia patients experiencing less pain and physical discomfort.