Cephalon achieves record sales performance in 2010

Cephalon has posted its best-ever financial results in 2010 as a result of growing product sales.

The pharmaceutical company generated a record net sales total of $2.76 billion (1.73 billion pounds), representing a year-on-year increase of 28 percent.

Around half of this total was accumulated by Cephalon's growing central nervous system franchise, while the addition of a number of new products from the April 2010 acquisition of Mepha also helped to stimulate sales growth.

As a result of this performance, the company has updated its guidance for the coming year and now expects to record sales of between $3.01 billion and $3.10 billion in 2011.

Kevin Buchi, chief executive officer of Cephalon, said: "We now have one of the premier late stage pipelines in the industry and a geographically diversified business."

The strong results came after a year that saw the passing of Cephalon's previous chief executive officer and founder Dr Frank Baldino Jr from complications associated with leukaemia.