ALK Abello revenues rise in first quarter

ALK Abello has published its interim financial report for the first three months of 2010, during which the company’s revenue increased on a year-on-year basis.

The pharmaceutical firm’s total revenue takings for the quarter came to 558 million kroner (65.5 million pounds), up by 13 per cent on the first quarter of 2009, with profits also seeing an increase.

According to the report, this performance exceeded ALK Abello’s previous expectations, with sales of vaccines playing a key role after increasing by ten per cent on a local currency basis from last year.

It also highlighted its recent agreement to purchase a major Netherlands-based allergy vaccine company as a business highlight of the most recent quarter, with the transaction expected to close in July 2010.

Across the full-year period, ALK Abello expects its allergy vaccine sales to increase by between five and eight per cent.

Earlier this year, the company published clinical trial data for Grazax, a treatment developed with Merck Sharpe and Dohme, which demonstrated its effectiveness among children with grass pollen-induced rhinoconjunctivitis.