The Wall Street Journal-20080204-Sales of Key Drugs Lift Net at Astellas- Eisai

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Sales of Key Drugs Lift Net at Astellas, Eisai

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TOKYO -- Astellas Pharma Inc. and Eisai Co. posted net-profit increases as key prescription drugs continued to sell well.But the earnings gains likely will slow during the fiscal year ending March 2009 as the drug makers struggle to develop products to support growth.

Astellas, Japan's No. 3 pharmaceutical firm by sales behind Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and Daiichi Sankyo Co., said net for the nine months ended Dec. 31 climbed 52% to 161.24 billion yen ($1.51 billion) from 106.31 billion yen a year earlier. Sales rose 8.9% to 765.24 billion yen. Astellas didn't disclose October-to-December results.

Strong year-to-year profit growth was expected after the drug maker made a 35.2 billion yen upfront payment to FibroGen Inc. in 2006 to obtain the rights to jointly develop and exclusively market anemia drugs.

Astellas said sales of its Prograf immunosuppressant rose 19% during the nine months to 154 billion yen. Sales of Vesicare, for urinary disorders, rose 76% to 44.6 billion yen.

Eisai said net in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 rose 3.5% as strong sales and cheaper production costs are offsetting expenses. Japan's No. 4 pharmaceutical company, makers of Aricept, an Alzheimer's-disease treatment, said earnings rose to 24.16 billion yen from 23.34 billion yen, while sales rose 8.5% to 196.74 billion yen.

Sales of Aricept grew 18% to 78.2 billion yen. Sales of ulcer drug Aciphex/Pariet, competing in a tougher market, inched up 0.4% to 47.7 billion yen.

Eisai didn't change its earnings forecast for the fiscal year through March and is still evaluating the impact of its recent acquisition of MGI Pharma Inc. It forecasts net of 78.5 billion yen and sales of 739 billion yen.

The company said separately it will delay its application for its E7389 cancer drug in the U.S. to as late as March 2011.

Both companies' results are based on Japanese accounting standards.