Bayer's income reaches 1.59B in 2005, up 133%

German pharmaceutical group Bayer says that its net income for 2005 was 1.59 billion euros ($1.91 billion), an increase of 133.1% when compared with the 685.0 million euros the firm made in 2004. The company also saw an increase in its earnings which reached 3.3 billion euros, up 55.9% on the the year-earlier period.

Bayer's sales revenue increased 17.6% during 2005 to 27.38 billion euros due, it says, to the the improved performance of both its health care and material science divisions, which recorded revenue of 9.42 billion euros and 10.69 billion euros up for the year, respectively.

Among the company's best performing products were: the hemophilia A drug Kognate (recombinant human Factor VIII), sales of which grew 18%; the erectile dysfunction product Levitra (vardenafil; marketed in the USA with UK drug giant GlaxoSmithKline) and its protease product Trasylol (aprotinin injection), for the reduction of surgical bleeding, which both grew 34% in revenue respectively. This story will be covered in more depth in this week's Pharma Marketletter.