Nycomed hails first quarter growth

Nycomed has expressed satisfaction with its first quarter financial performance for 2010 after experiencing growth in its key product areas.

According to the company’s quarterly financial breakdown, the firm’s net turnover for the three-month period came to 776.4 million euros (666.3 million pounds), a decline of 7.6 per cent year-on-year.

The company explained that this decrease was largely due to pantoprazole’s patent expiry in Europe, while highlighting its encouraging progress in terms of key product sales and emerging market performance.

It also expressed confidence that the recent recommendation for European approval of Daxas, its new oral once-a-day treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, will help to drive growth in the coming months.

It has agreed to co-promote the drug alongside Merck Sharpe and Dohme in both Europe and Canada.

Hakan Bjorklund, chief executive officer of Nycomed, said: “We saw a very satisfactory performance in the first quarter of 2010 confirming our direction.”