Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Merck - Raptiva: "sharply lower sales expectations"

Merck KGaA has posted a net loss for the fourth-quarter, hit by a decrease in demand for its liquid crystals and exceptional items.

The Darmstadt-based group has recorded a loss for the quarter of 279.5 million euroscompared with income of 3.39 billion euros in the like, year-earlier period, though the latter figure was boosted by the sale of its generics business to Mylan.

Some 195 million euros of that was due to “sharply lower sales expectations” for Raptiva (efalizumab), the psoriasis drug partnered with Genentech which has been linked to the recent deaths of two patients who developed the rare brain infection progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.

More

No comments: