Allergan reports Q4 sales increase

Net revenues, driven by the strong performance of its regenerative medicine products such as Botox, amounted to US$4.33 billion (AU$5.33 b), while for the entire year, total net revenue reached US$15.94 billion (AU$20.35 b), a 9.4% increase from 2016.There were mixed results in the eyecare segment, with fourth-quarter sales of Restasis increasing 1.8% to US$400.3 million (AU$511.16 m), in contrast to a decline in the company’s the glaucoma franchise.Alphagan/Combigan net revenues held stable at US$101.8 million (AU$130 m), but Lumigan/Ganfort was impacted by lower volume and dropped 5.9% to US$80.9 million (AU$103.3 m).{{quote-A:R-W:450-I:2-Q: We acquired, integrated and grew two new businesses and continued to advance our R&D pipeline -WHO:Mr Brent Saunders, CEO of Allergan}}However, strong dand continued to drive increased sales of Ozurdex, a treatment for adults with diabetic macular oeda, which rose 16.8% to US$26.4 million (AU$33.7 m).Overall eyecare business sales amounted to US$671.7 million (AU$857.7 m) in the fourth quarter, an increase of 1.8% from the same period last year.Following the announcent, CEO Mr Brent Saunders said 2017 had been a pivotal year for Allergan.“We powered strong revenue growth of our top products and in each of our regions. We acquired, integrated and grew two new businesses and continued to advance our R&D pipeline,” he said.“Allergan also continued to execute our capital deployment plan by completing a US$15 billion (AU$19.06 b) share repurchase program, instituting a dividend and paying down debt in 2017.”Earlier this year the company implented operational cost cutting measures that resulted in the loss of around 1,000 jobs.