Shire reports level performance in first quarter

Shire has described its financial performance for the first quarter of 2010 as “excellent” after posting revenues which were consistent with 2009 levels.

The pharmaceutical company’s total revenue figure for the three-month period was $816 million (537.1 million pounds), equal to the amount recorded in the first quarter of last year, while sales from core products increased by 36 per cent year-on-year.

Among the successes noted by Shire in the last quarter was the strong performance of new treatments Vpriv and Intuniv in Europe, as well as the 60 per cent share of the Fabry disease market commanded by Replagal.

Angus Russell, chief executive officer of Shire, said this was representative of the company’s success in replenishing its product portfolio in the last quarter.

He added: “We reiterate our aspirational target of mid-teens revenue growth on average between 2009 and 2015.”

The last quarter also saw Shire publish results from clinical trials on a number of key products, with phase III data on Vpriv published in March demonstrating the drug’s efficacy in treating type 1 Gaucher disease.