Novo Nordisk reports sales increase

Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk has reported a sales increase of 16 per cent in the first three quarters of the year.

Operating profits at the diabetes care specialists rose by 14 per cent over the same period, with sales of insulin analogues and haemophilia treatment NovoSeven also increasing. Developed for the treatment of haemophilia A and B and used in surgical interventions for the prevention of bleeding, NovoSeven sales rose by 13 per cent.

Performance of the growth hormone therapy Norditropin, the somatropin [rDNA origin] injection, experienced a boost, with sales of the drug rising by 21 per cent. The company’s performance in Europe rose by ten per cent when measured in Danish kroner and local currencies throughout the continent.

Sales of insulin analogues, NovoRapid, Novomix 30 and Levemir, accounted for the majority of European growth.

Lars Rebien Sorensen, president and chief executive officer of the firm, said: “Despite increasing competitive pressure, Novo Nordisk’s sales of strategic products continue to perform well.

“This provides us with a good basis for continuing to deliver attractive growth rates in 2007 and beyond.”

The company dominates the European insulin market with a 58 per cent share and holds 47 per cent of the insulin analogue market.

Over 70 per cent of Novo Nordisk’s turnover of 33,760 million Danish kroner (GBP 3,039 million) is generated by sales of diabetes related products.