AstraZeneca Reports Positive Fourth-Quarter Earnings

UK- and Sweden-based drug major AstraZeneca has reported encouraging fourth-quarter results, with earnings rising 52% year-on-year to US$968mn. Sales totalled some US$5.8bn in the period. In general, the results have come as welcome news in view of the company's recent challenges. AstraZeneca's lung cancer drug Iressa failed in clinical trials last year, and the US FDA did not approve the company's Exanta blood thinner product. Meanwhile, despite safety concerns over its high cholesterol treatment Crestor, the drug's sales were reported to have risen from US$129mn in 2003 to US$908mn in 2004. The company also claimed that efficiency savings in the year had also favourably impacted results.