A dramatic fall in fourth-quarter sales of the company's bestselling drug, Nexium, used for treating ulcers, gave the market a sharp dose of indigestion. Sales of the $5.2bn (£2.6bn) drug were down 18% in the US and 12% globally, against the fourth quarter of 2006.
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Chief executive David Brennan said: "What happened in the last part of 2007 with Nexium was sales slowed down faster than we thought. This year globally we expect declining sales. It is a very important product for us but because generics are being used more, the market for branded products is shrinking."
Although Mr Brennan played down the situation, analysts such as Navid Malik from Collins Stewart were more forthright. "That is a disaster. The markets have not realised how serious that is.
It is more than a hiccup, it is a serious decline."
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