Germany’s Merck KGaA says that fourth-quarter 2007 net income soared but its operating profit fell 20.6% as the Darmstadt-based firm reported higher-than-expected charges.
Net income came in at 3.40 billion euros, up from 130.6 million euros in the like, year-earlier quarter, boosted by the sale of its generics business to Mylan Laboratories for 4.9 billion euros. Most of the proceeds were used to repay essentially all the debt resulting from the purchase of Serono, which closed in January 2007.
However analysts were slightly disappointed with the results as operating profit fell to 166.1 million euros, hurt by a 54 million euro charge connected with Serostim (somatropin) to treat muscle wasting in patients with AIDS and a further 75 million euros involved with restructuring after the purchase of Serono.
In addition, Merck and partner Takeda Pharmaceutical Co have decided to halt the development of cancer drug matuzumab after its mid-stage trials failed to meet expectations.
The decision to terminate development comes as no surprise as a Phase II trial investigating matuzumab, a humanised monoclonal antibody, in combination with irinotecan in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who had already failed on multiple prior treatments, did not meet its predefined endpoint of activity.
Source: PharmaTimes
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