Use access key #2 to skip to page content.
$32.91 -0.05 (-0.15%)
9/5/2008 4:06 PM

Sanofi-Aventis (ADR) (SNY)

CAPS Rating:
****

A global pharmaceutical group engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of healthcare products.

View All Commentary (SNY)

Recs

3

Avatar NetscribePhrmtcl (95.48) Submitted: 1/18/07 12:58 AM : Outperform Start Price: $43.23 SNY Score: -10.78

Sanofi-Aventis, ranks the world’s third largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products and human vaccines worldwide. The company specializes in allergy, cardiovascular, central nervous system, oncology, and internal medicine formulations.

The company’s pharmaceutical segment witnessed a marginal decline of 0.4% in the third quarter of 2006 due to the introduction of generic competition to four of its products in the US and the effect of healthcare system reforms in France and Germany. Drugs like Allegra, Amaryl, Arava and DDAVP in the United States have been facing the heat of generic competition. Its top fifteen drugs saw a meager rise in sales of 1.5% during the same quarter.

The company’s premier selling blockbuster drug Lovenox for the treatment of Venous thrombosis has been performing strongly and is expected to continue grow in the year ahead. However, one should not loose sight of the fact that this drug is confronted with a pending litigation in the lower court of its generic version. FDA‘s approval for generic Lovenox and unfavorable court ruling could weigh heavily on the top line growth of the company.

Second most important drug for the company Plavix which is co-developed and marketed by Bristol Myers Squib saw a temporary dip in revenues as a result of the launch of generic version of the drug by Apotex. However, with the courts ruling in favour of the company, one can expect Plavix to capture its lost ground. Moreover, the company recently launched its new drug ACOMPLIA for the treatment life-threatening obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes or dyslipidemia in Europe and is so far receiving strong response. All in all, the company is expected to growth organically banking on its strong blockbusters drug sales and exciting pipeline results in future.


Report this Post Replies: 1 | Reply

Avatar NetscribePhrmtcl (95.48) Submitted: 4/16/07 3:00 AM

Recs: 1 | Rec This

Sanofi-Aventis continues to solidify its wide moat with strong innovation and development of patent-protected products sold around the world.

Recently in April 2007, Sanofi-Aventis said that the Swiss regulatory body ‘Swissmedic’ has approved anti-obesity drug Acomplia for sale in the country. The regulator has authorized the use of the drug for obese or overweight patients with at least one associated cardiovascular risk factor. However, the putative miracle drug is still in regulatory limbo in the US, where it has been granted only a tentative approval. With obesity affecting 100 million people in the US and Europe, this obesity pill is expected to generate up to $6 billion a year in sales by the end of the decade.

In late Feb 2007, Sanofi-Aventis announced the results of the large TAX 327 phase III clinical trials. The company announced that long-term results confirmed the survival benefit of Taxotere-based treatment in patients with metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer. Early Feb 2007, the company also announced that the US FDA has accepted for review a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for the anticoagulant Lovenox, for the treatment of patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a type of acute heart attack.

Sanofi-Aventis announced in Jan 2007 that the US FDA voted unanimously that its pentavalent combination vaccine for use in pediatric patients is both safe and efficacious. Pentacel vaccine protects against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, and Haemophilus influenzas type b (Hib).

Sanofi's pipeline is impressive, with 125 drugs in development across seven therapeutic areas. It has 25 products in late-stage clinical trials, which could reach the market in the next two to four years. More than 40 products in the company's pipeline address diseases where there are no current treatments or use a novel mechanism of action. Despite generic competition issues surrounding some of its drugs, the company’s robust business model and pipeline makes it a compelling investment idea.

Report this Post Reply

Featured Broker Partners