Sanofi yet another to be hit by generic competition

Continuing the trend reported by other drug majors reporting third-quarter 2012 financial results  so far(The Pharma Letter October 25), France’s Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) posted total sales of 9.04 billion euros ($11.78 billion for the three months, a fall of 3.1% on the like 2011 period. Net sales lost to generic competition were 448 million euros in the quarter, primarily due to generic competition to colorectal cancer drug Eloxatin (oxaliplatin) in the USA.

Third-quarter gross profit was 6.38 billion euros, a decrease of 0.9% (down 8.1% at constant exchange rates). Business operating income was 3.06 billion, down 8.5% (-16.7% at CER). Business earnings per share (EPS) were 1.68, down 6.1% and 14.5% on a reported basis and at CER, respectively. The average number of shares outstanding was 1,318.4 million this quarter versus 1,339.4 million in the third quarter of 2011.

Given the group's performance in the first nine months of this year, 2012 business EPS is now expected to be around 12% lower at CER than 2011, barring unforeseen adverse events, Sanofi noted. The decline expected for this year is not as bad as previously thought and Sanofi’s shares in the company gained 1.8% to 67.30 by midmorning yesterday.