Kyowa Hakko Kirin raises 2010 full-year forecasts

Kyowa Hakko Kirin has increased its forecasts for 2010 following a better-than-expected financial performance during the first nine months of the year.

The company has raised its expectations for net sales, operating income and non-operating income for the full-year period after recording a 4.2 percent year-over-year growth in net sales between January and September.

Its consolidated sales total of 304.4 billion yen (2.4 billion pounds) was attributed to positive trends such as improved growth for anaemia treatments Nesp and Espo, as well as a strong launch for the cancer pain treatment Fentos.

Yuzura Matsuda, president and chief executive officer of Kyowa Hakko Kirin, also stated that the planned sale of the company's chemicals business unit will enhance its ability to focus on drug sales.

He expressed confidence that the firm is on track to become "a world-class research and development-based life sciences company, founded on biotechnology with the pharmaceutical business at its core".

Earlier this year, Kyowa Hakko Kirin allied with Biovail Laboratories International of Canada to work on a new therapy option for Parkinson's disease.