Shire Q3 better than feared

LONDON (ShareCast) - Pharmaceutical giant Shire has announced a smaller than feared 14% drop in third quarter revenue and cheered a 20% surge in sales of core products.

Revenue of $667m for the three months to 30 September was certainly better than the $650m predicted by analysts at Morgan Stanley. Core product sales were $532m.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug Vyvanse saw sales leap 34% to $129m, ulcerative colitis treatment Liald/Mezavant was up 62% to $65m and sales of Hunter syndrome drug Elaprase rose 16% to $91m.

But sales of flagship product Adderall XR slumped 74%, as expected, down to $71m after Israeli firm Teva launched its generic version of the ADHD drug in April. Sales had tumbled 77% year-on-year in the second quarter.

"The growth of our core products and continued pro-active cost management are positioning us well to deliver on our unchanged guidance framework for 2009 and our aspiration of growing sales in the mid-teens range on average between 2009 and 2015," said chief executive Angus Russell.