Takeda's six-month profit drops 12.2%

Takeda says that its net income for the six months ending September 30, 2006, reached 159.14 billion yen ($1.35 billion), a 12.2% drop on the like, year-ago period, as sales of its key drug Actos (pioglitazone) were impaired by competition from newer antidiabetics. The Japanese drug giant also achieved earnings per share of 181 yen.

During the period, the Osaka-headquartered company saw net sales of 642.42 billion yen, a 7.1% rise, as operating income jumped 9.7% to 236.22 billion yen. On the day of the news, November 6, Takeda's shares closed unchanged at 7,480 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Actos sales slow-down expected