Genentech's product growth
Leading US biotechnology company Genentech, has announced total product sales of $763.7m for the first quarter of 2004, a 28% increase over product sales in the first quarter of 2003.
Leading US biotechnology company Genentech, has announced total product sales of $763.7m for the first quarter of 2004, a 28% increase over product sales in the first quarter of 2003.
Sales for Avastin (bevacizumab) were $38.1m in the first quarter of 2004. Avastin, the first FDA approved therapy designed to inhibit angiogenesis, received FDA approval on February 26, 2004 and Genentech shipped product the same day. Operating revenues increased by 30% from the first quarter of 2003 to $975.1m.
'Genentech is starting out the year with good quarterly performance, led by strong product sales. We have created a solid foundation for growth in the immediate future and into the next decade, which is key to our Horizon 2010 strategic plan,' said Dr Arthur Levinson, Genentech's chairman and chief executive officer.
'We are on track with our strategy of investing in new product launches while strengthening our pipeline through increased r&d investments, thereby continuing to create improved shareholder value,' said Louis Lavigne, Jr, Genentech's executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Avastin
The FDA approved Avastin to be used in combination with intravenous 5-Fluorouracil-based chemotherapy as a treatment for patients with first-line or previously untreated metastatic cancer of the colon or rectum. Avastin is the first FDA-approved therapy designed to inhibit angiogenesis, the process by which new blood vessels develop, which is necessary to support tumour growth and metastasis.