Boehringer Ingelheim announces strong 2005

Boehringer Ingelheim, the German pharmaceutical firm, has announced its sixth year of above-average growth.

Net sales grew by 17 per cent to 9.5 billion euros for 2005 when it also took on an extra 1,900 employees.

Overall sales grew by 23 per cent against an industry average of six per cent, with the biggest market being the Americas, reporting 4.6 billion euros net of trade.

Company chairman Dr Alessandro Banchi, said he expects the strong growth to continue: “We trust in our own strengths and are confident that we can extend our position further in our market segments.”

The company now has a global market share of two per cent, making it the number 14 pharmaceutical company through products such as Spiriva and Micardis.

The highlight of 2005 according to Boehringer Ingelheim was Aids protease inhibitor Aptivus, a treatment for HIV positive patients resistant to other drugs.

Biopharmaceutical production was also cited as a reason for a good year, reporting a strong growth of 40 per cent in net sales to 550 million euros.

In addition to crediting employees for the good year, Dr Banchi said that after last year’s success, Boehringer Ingelheim “will maintain? dynamic growth in 2006 too.”

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