PHARMACEUTICALS group GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said soaring sales of its asthma drug Advair and diabetes medication Avandia drove profits up 16 per cent.

GSK's haul for 2005 of £6.73bn beat expectations in the City and came on the back of an eight per cent rise in turnover to £21.66bn.

Sales of best-selling Advair surged 22 per cent to more than £3bn, while Avandia was up 18 per cent to £1.3bn and vaccines were up 15 per cent to £1.4bn.

Chief executive Jean-Pierre Garnier said GSK, which employs more than 1,000 people at its complex in Barnard Castle, County Durham, had a great finish to an excellent year and predicted further growth this year.

He gave a long-awaited update on cervical cancer vaccine Cervarix, which is seen as one of GSK's main opportunities for growth currently in the pipeline.

Mr Garnier said Cervarix would be would be filed for approval in Europe in the next few weeks and in the US before the end of the year.

GSK said it was also seeking accelerated approval for a vaccine which could protect millions of people worldwide from a bird flu pandemic.

It came on the day that the World Organisation for Animal Health said a strain of the H5N1 virus had been found in poultry stocks in Nigeria - the first reported case in Africa.

About 160 cases of the virus have been reported worldwide, and more than 80 people have already died. GSK said it was in discussions with governments around the world on plans to prime people for a possible bird flu pandemic and stockpile the vaccine, called Relenza.

GSK posted a 13 per cent rise in fourth quarter turnover to £5.91bn while pre-tax profits were 21 per cent higher at £1.61bn.

Its earnings per share rose 47 per cent in the final three months of 2005 while over the full year it as 21 per cent up.

GSK forecast ten per cent growth in 2006.

Yesterday shares in GSK were down 10p before the results were announced at midday and immediately gained.