Forest Laboratories sales grow in second quarter

Forest Laboratories has published financial results for the second quarter of its 2010-11 fiscal year, reporting a 7.7 percent increase in year-on-year sales.

The pharmaceutical company's net sales total came to $1.04 billion (663.1 million pounds) for the three months, with the majority of this sum generated by its mental illness treatment Lexapro.

Drugs such as Namenda and Bystolic saw double-digit increases in sales compared to the year-ago period, while the company's newest drug Savella, a therapy for fibromyalgia, generated $21.4 million.

Other important developments noted by Forest Laboratories in the second quarter included the publication of encouraging phase III trial results for linaclotide, as well as positive regulatory opinions issued for ceftaroline and Daxas.

Howard Solomon, chairman and chief executive officer of Forest, said: "We are pleased with the strong financial results of the company in the just-completed quarter and with the continued positive progress of our late-stage product development pipeline."

This performance builds on the solid results posted in the firm's first quarter report, which highlighted a 7.6 percent year-on-year sales growth.