GlaxoSmithKline Earnings Rise

GlaxoSmithKline(GSK Quote), Europe's largest drug maker, posted 2001 income of $6.323 billion, or $2.09 cents a share, up from $5.619 billion, or $1.85 a share, last year. The results were in-line with analyst expectations, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.

Sales for the year rose to $29.504 billion from $27.480 billion last year, led by record revenue from the asthma drug Advair, one of the most successful drug launches ever in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects growth in the mid-teens for 2002 and the low-teens for 2003, assuming the company can successfully defend its intellectual property surrounding the drugs Augmentin and Paxil in the U.S. GSK also has several new drugs in its pipeline, expecting to launch the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment Bexar and the children's vaccine PeNta in 2002....