Business & Industry News Channel
Sales of the Bayer Group climbed by 13.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011, to EUR 9,415 million (Q1 2010: EUR 8,316 million). Adjusted for currency and portfolio effects, sales were up by 10.4 percent. Despite the positive business trend, the operating result (EBIT) improved by only 4.0 percent to EUR 1,148 million (Q1 2010: EUR 1,104 million). 
In the first quarter of 2011, Merck Group total revenues increased 22% to EUR 2,564 million from EUR 2,099 million in the year-ago quarter, with the July 2010 acquisition of the Millipore Corporation in the United States continuing to have a positive effect. Acquisitions - mainly Millipore - and divestments accounted for 16 percentage points of the increase while positive currency effects and organic growth were responsible for 3.2 percentage points and 3.1 percentage points, respectively. In addition, as mentioned in the year-ago report, pharmaceutical sales in the first quarter of 2010 were about EUR 50 million higher than normal because wholesalers in the United States had received an extra 20 days supply of Rebif® and other products during March. 
Novartis announced today that Rasilamlo®, a single-pill combination of aliskiren and amlodipine, has received approval from the European Commission (EC) for the treatment of high blood pressure patients not controlled by either aliskiren or amlodipine alone[1]. Rasilamlo combines the only approved direct renin inhibitor worldwide, Rasilez®, with the widely used calcium channel blocker amlodipine[1]. Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals is aware of two studies published in The British Medical Journal. These papers are "Risk of venous thromboembolism in users of oral contraceptives containing drospirenone or levonorgestrel: nested case-control study based on UK General Practice Research Database" by Lianne Parkin et al (1); and "Risk of non-fatal venous thromboembolism in women using oral contraceptives containing drospirenone compared with women using oral contraceptives containing levonorgestrel: case-control study using United States claims data" by Susan S. Jick et al (2). 
Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.34 for the first quarter of 2011, an increase of 3 percent compared to $1.30 for the first quarter of 2010. Adjusted net income decreased 2 percent to $1,258 million in the first quarter of 2011 compared to $1,282 million in the first quarter of 2010. Total revenue increased 3 percent during the first quarter of 2011 to $3,706 million versus $3,592 million in the first quarter of 2010. Novartis' net sales rose 16% (+14% cc) to USD 14.0 billion. Currency benefited sales by 2% as the dollar weakened against most currencies. Excluding A(H1N1) pandemic flu vaccine sales and Alcon, net sales grew 10% (+8% cc). Recently launched products provided USD 3.1 billion of net sales in the first quarter, representing 26% of total net sales (excluding Alcon). 
In the first three months of 2011 Group sales remained stable in local currencies (-9% in Swiss francs; +2% in US dollars) at 11.1 billion Swiss francs. Excluding Tamiflu sales, which as expected declined significantly compared with the prior-year period (from 517 million to 252 million francs), Group sales increased 2% (-7% in Swiss francs, +4% in US dollars). The Pharmaceuticals Division’s first-quarter sales totalled 8.7 billion Swiss francs, a decline of 2% in local currencies (-10% in Swiss francs; +1% in US dollars).