Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Astellas plans "decimation"

Astellas plans to close five plants and cut almost a tenth of its workforce after Japan's third-largest drugmaker lowered its sales forecast for the next business year by 4 percent.

Revenue may reach 960 billion yen ($8.1 billion) in the year ending March 2008, President Masafumi Nogimori said today. That compares with the 1 trillion yen previously forecast and sales of 879.4 billion yen in the year ended March 2006.

Sales growth will be slower because of a "tougher-than- expected business environment,'' including greater competition for Harnal, Astellas' medicine for urinary disorders and generic versions of the drug, Nogimori told reporters in Tokyo.

Bloomberg

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