Bristol-Myers 3Q profit rises 2 pct. as sales jump (AP)

TRENTON, N.J. ? Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. on Thursday reported a 2 percent increase in its third-quarter profit, as price increases and higher sales of several key medicines were mostly offset by higher taxes and increased research and marketing costs.

Bristol-Myers, which sells blockbuster blood thinner Plavix and psychiatric drug Abilify, said net income was $969 million, or 56 cents per share. That's up from $949 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding an after-tax charge of $75 million for one-time items, adjusted net income was $1 billion, or 61 cents per share, topping the 58 cents a share expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Analysts typically exclude one-time items.

Revenue rose 11 percent to $5.35 billion, just above the $5.29 billion analysts were expecting, but got a 3 percent boost from favorable currency exchange rates.

New York-based Bristol-Myers said profit was reduced by about 4 cents per share due to two provisions of the U.S. health care overhaul, an annual fee on pharmaceutical companies and new discounts for Medicare patients who hit the prescription coverage gap known as the doughnut hole.

Still, Bristol raised the low end of its profit forecast for the year by a nickel, to $2.25 to $2.30 per share, or $2.13 to $2.18 per share excluding items.

"Our solid financial results, key R&D data and multiple business development transactions together demonstrate our ability to execute our short-term plans while at the same time laying a solid foundation for our future," CEO Lambertville Andreotti said in a statement.

The company noted in September that it completed its acquisition of Amira Pharmaceuticals, which is developing treatments for the fatal lung disease pulmonary fibrosis and other disorders. Also in the quarter, Bristol made deals with three other companies to develop and sell new drugs for cancer, diabetes and other diseases. And on Wednesday, it announced a licensing deal to develop a once-a-day HIV combination pill containing its popular Reyataz and an experimental drug in testing by Gilead Sciences Inc.

Also, on Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration pushed back its review deadline from Friday until Jan. 28 for a much-anticipated new type of diabetes drug. Dapagliflozin, developed by Bristol-Myers and partner AstraZeneca PLC for Type 2 diabetes, ran into trouble in July when a panel of FDA advisers recommended against approving it because higher rates of bladder and breast cancer were seen in patient testing. The drug works by eliminating excess blood sugar via urine.

Bristol's U.S. sales totaled $3.5 billion, while foreign sales hit $1.9 billion.

Sales were led by Plavix, the world's second-best-selling drug, which jumped 8 percent to $1.79 billion. Abilify, for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, saw sales climbed 14 percent to $691 million. HIV drugs Reyataz and Sustiva both increased about 5 percent, to $391 million and $359 million, respectively.

But sales of blood pressure drugs Avapro and Avalide fell 29 percent, to $216 million, because of three problems. They got generic competition in Canada, a rival's similar drug got generic competition in many countries and one of the three dosage forms has been off the market since a recall late last year.

Bristol-Myers and partner Sanofi SA share revenue from Plavix, Avapro and Avalide. All three drugs get U.S. generic competition next spring, which will sharply cut into Bristol's revenue.

During the quarter, the FDA approved a new form of biologic rheumatoid arthritis drug Orencia that patients can inject themselves just under the skin, and China approved Sprycel for treating chronic myeloid leukemia.

Bristol's income taxes jumped 52 percent to $475 million, as its effective tax rate rose from 19.3 percent to 26 percent.

Spending on marketing, sales and administration jumped 14 percent, to $1 billion, partly because of costs to launch new products, including malignant melanoma drug Yervoy. Research and development costs increased 18 percent, to $973 million, mostly because of expensive late-stage human testing of experimental drugs.

In early trading, Bristol-Myers shares rose 22 cents to $32.73.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_bristol_myers

verizon wireless oregon ducks football the league the ides of march yankees espn magazine espn magazine