Pharmaceutical Firms Report Healthy Profits

Three major U.S. pharmaceutical companies posted healthy first-quarter profits, driven by robust U.S. sales of prescription drugs aimed at treating common ailments for the elderly. American Home Products Corp. said its earnings rose 16% to $733.6 million, or 55 cents a share, giving much of the credit to higher revenue from antidepressant Effexor XR, Premarin female hormone replacement therapy and its ulcer drug Protonix, which was launched last year. Revenue was up 8% to $3.45 billion. The results met Wall Street expectations. Separately, AHP settled suits by a group of Mississippi women who had sought $8 billion in damages for heart problems caused by the company’s diet drugs Pondimin and Redux, part of the fen-phen diet combination. The size of the settlement wasn’t disclosed. During the last eight months, American Home has been striving to wrap up litigation over the diet drugs, which may cost the company as much as $12.2 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said its earnings rose 10% to $1.24 billion, or 63 cents a share, a penny better than analyst forecasts, due in part to hefty sales of its Glucophage family of diabetes drugs and its cholesterol-lowering medicine Pravachol. The results exclude the Clairol beauty products and Zimmer orthopedics units that the company plans to spin off or sell. Revenue rose 5% to $4.69 billion. Pharmacia Corp. said its profit from continuing operations rose 19% to $423 million, or 32 cents a share, matching forecasts. Revenue rose 8.3% to $4.52 billion, boosted by higher sales of its Celebrex painkiller, Detrol incontinence pill and Ambien sleeping pill. On the New York Stock Exchange, AHP rose $1.73 to close at $56.08, Bristol-Myers rose $1.96 to $56.86, while Pharmacia rose $1.09 to close at $49.10.