Sanofi-Aventis Lifts Outlook On Vaccine Sales

GREG KELLER

PARIS (AP) — Sanofi-Aventis SA reported Friday a 6 percent rise in third-quarter profit and said strong sales of its vaccine against swine flu will drive earnings higher than expected for the full year.

France's largest pharmaceutical company expects to make $500 million in sales of the swine flu vaccine in the fourth quarter. That forecast led Sanofi-Aventis to raise its outlook for full-year earnings per share growth to 11 percent, up from 10 percent growth seen previously.

Sanofi-Aventis, headquartered in Paris, said net profit rose 6 percent to euro1.4 billion ($2.1 billion) in the third quarter, on revenue that grew 8 percent to euro7.4 billion.

Sanofi Pasteur, the company's vaccines division, is churning out more than 75 million doses of swine flu vaccine and 50 million doses of the winter flu variety at two plants in Swiftwater, Pennsylvania. In a statement, Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher said Sanofi-Aventis has "mobilized substantial resources on the production of A/H1N1 vaccines."

Last week, Switzerland's Novartis AG said it anticipates sales of between $400 million and $700 million for the shots in the fourth quarter.