PARIS (AP) – Drugmaker Sanofi saw its net profit rise 35 percent in the first half of the year as it pushes into areas with long-term growth potential to off-set the expiration of profitable patents.
Strong growth in the Paris-based company’s diabetes drug Lantus and a record year for flu vaccines sales helped drive earnings from January to June to €3 billion ($3.64 billion). Revenue for the period was €17.4 billion, up 8 percent from the same period last year.
Shares rose on the news when the Paris bourse opened, moving up 0.8 percent in early trading.
But the company was still cautious in its outlook for the year, saying that generic competition for its Plavix blood thinner and Avapro blood pressure drugs would cost it €1.4 billion in 2012. As a result, it still expects its core earnings, what it calls “Business EPS,” to fall between 12 and 15 percent this year.
As the expiration of lucrative patents wipes out billions in annual revenue, Sanofi is shifting its focus from blockbuster patented drugs to six growth “platforms” – areas with products with indefinite lifespans, not the typical 10 years before prescription pills get generic competition.