Genentech Q2 profit rises 41 pct

Genentech Q2 profit rises 41 pct

	Published : Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:51 By : Agencies Print this Story

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - In a pattern now long familiar to investors in one of the world's largest biotechnology companies, Genentech Inc again reported a surge in profit, crediting its best-selling cancer drug for its continued hot streak.

The company credited the latest jump in growth on a marketing push to raise awareness of Avastin, well-recognized as a treatment for colon and breast cancer, as a lung cancer therapy.

'What we are really pleased about is executing on the commercial front,' said Susan Desmond-Hellmann, president of product development.

Genentech said it expects profit to increase 28 to 32 percent from last year as the South San Francisco-based company announced double-digit growth again after posting similar performances each quarter for the past three years.

The company reported Wednesday that it earned $747 million, or 70 cents per share, compared with profit of $531 million, or 49 cents per share, during the year-ago period.

Second-quarter revenue rose 36 percent to $3 billion from $2.2 billion.

Excluding stock and litigation expenses, Genentech earned 78 cents per share, 6 cents higher than predictions by analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

The company's top seller, the rheumatoid arthritis and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma drug Rituxan, brought in $582 million in sales during the quarter, an 11 percent increase.

But company officials credited a 33 percent jump in demand for Avastin, which treats lung, breast and colon cancer, as the main driver of growth, with sales of $564 million.

Company officials also noted healthy demand for its newest drug, Lucentis, a treatment for an eye disorder among the elderly, which brought in $209 million during the second quarter. The drug, which treats age-related macular degeneration, was approved last June.

Breast cancer drug Herceptin showed a 3 percent increase in sales to $329 million.

During the quarter, the company began eight Phase III clinical trials. Those studies include Lucentis as a possible treatment for eye problems caused by diabetes and Avastin for a specific form of lung cancer and as a second-line treatment for colon cancer.

The company was also in discussions with the Food and Drug Administration over the possible use of Avastin as part of a combined therapy for advanced kidney cancer, officials said.

Costs and expenses rose 30 percent to $1.88 billion from $1.44 billion.

Before earnings were released, shares rose $1.08 cents to $75.93 on the New York Stock Exchange. They fell 43 cents in after-hours trading.

For the full year, the company said it expects earnings per share, excluding costs and charges, to range from $2.85 to $2.95. Analysts expect earnings of $2.91 per share.

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