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Serono profit soars 42%
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July 24, 2001: 3:54 a.m. ET
Swiss biotech company posts jump in profit on MS drug sales rocket
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LONDON (CNN) - Serono, Europe's largest biotechnology company, said on Tuesday profit soared 42.5 percent on sales of its multiple sclerosis drug Rebif.
The Geneva, Switzerland-based company said second-quarter net income rose to $104.2 million, or $6.47 per bearer share. That compares to a profit of $73.2 million, or $4.87, in the year earlier period.
"We have delivered another excellent performance this quarter, driven by our two flagship products, Gonal-F and Rebif, which continue to gain market share," Chief Executive Ernesto Bertarelli said.
Sales of Rebif rocketed 58 percent to $90.7 million and its market share climbed to 32 percent outside the U.S. from 28 percent a year ago.
Rebif sales outperformed those of Avonex, the rival MS drug produced by Biogen (BGEN: Research, Estimates), which said earlier this month international sales rose 37 percent.
Serono plans to pitch its MS drug against Avonex, which enjoys exclusive marketing rights in the U.S. until 2003, this year but needs to convince the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that Rebif is the better of the two drugs.
The Swiss company is confident it has the product and results that prove it is better than Avonex. If it manages to convince the FDA then Rebif could go on sale in June or July next year, breaking Avonex's exclusivity period.
"Results.. provide strong evidence that Rebif yields statistically significant benefits over Anonex," the company said.
Second-quarter sales for the group, including product sales, royalty and licence income, advanced 19.6 percent to $367.6 million, beating analysts' expectations of between $316 and $351 million, according to Reuters
Serono's fertility treatment Gonal-F also posted strong growth of 22.5 percent to $114.7 million.
Shares in Serono rose 2.2 percent to 1,640 Swiss francs in early Zurich trade. 
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