PHARMACEUTICALS group AstraZeneca yesterday overcame dismay at regulatory glitches for a key new drug by reporting a seven per cent hike in third-quarter sales.
AstraZeneca said it achieved turnover of £2.88bn despite weaker demand from US wholesalers who stockpiled medicines during the previous year.
Profits grew by 15 per cent to £694m - helped by a slowdown in the rate of growth in costs incurred in developing new products. The group added that it was making a £43.7m charge against blood-thinning drug Exanta, which US regulators provisionally rejected last month.
Exanta was seen as one of its key drivers of future growth that would tap a market for blood-thinning treatments worth £2.18bn a year.
But US regulators sought information on the drug amid fears that it could cause liver failure in patients over the long term. Regulators also raised concerns that patients were more likely to suffer heart attacks when Exanta was used after knee surgery.
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