The Wall Street Journal-20080116-Earnings Digest -- Pharmaceuticals- Forest Laboratories Inc-
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Earnings Digest -- Pharmaceuticals: Forest Laboratories Inc.
Forest Laboratories Inc. said fiscal-third-quarter profit rose 21%, and it boosted its full-year outlook thanks to stronger-than-expected sales of flagship drugs Lexapro and Namenda. The New York drug maker said revenue was up 12% in the period ended Dec. 31. Sales of the depression and anxiety drug for adults Lexapro, which the company sells for Danish firm H. Lundbeck in the U.S., rose 11% to $603.5 million. Sales of Alzheimer's and dementia pharmaceutical Namenda jumped 26% to $218.7 million. Sales of antihypertensive therapies Benicar and Benicar HCT, which it co-promotes with Japanese company Daiichi Sankyo Co., grew 34% to $830.4 million. Forest Labs now expects full-year per-share profit of $3.35 to $3.45, up from a prior outlook for $3.10 to $3.20. The drug maker teamed up with closely held Microbia Inc. last year to produce a drug to treat irritable bowel syndrome and chronic constipation. Big drug makers have been forming partnerships with smaller firms to beef up drug pipelines that are drying up.
