AstraZeneca confirmed earnings per share estimates from operations core 2010, which are indicated in a range between 6.35 and 6.65 $. The company has reached a $198 million settlement with US authorities to settle a dispute involving the psychiatric drug Seroquel [Editor's note: quetiapine fumarate]. Thousands of people have sued the pharmaceutical giant, claiming they have been affected by forms of diabetes and other pathologies.
ItaliaOggi – 10 August 2010 – p. 33
AstraZeneca is facing problems for its schizophrenia drug Seroquel - the company's second best-selling product and current market leader - as it was judged to be more dangerous to patients than some older drugs.
Finnish scientists have reported in the medical journal The Lancet that Leponex, from Swiss Novartis, has a significantly lower risk of suicide than those treated with Seroquel Astra.
The discovery may lead to wider use of clozapine - sold by Novartis as Leponex.
Compared to 2009, Q2 reported net income increased 12% from $2,608 million to $2,917 million, while sales increased 1% at constant exchange rates to $8,178 million. First-half sales were $16,754 million, up 4% at constant exchange rates. In Italy, revenues in the first six months of 2010 amounted to approximately 373 million euros, with substantial stability compared to 2009.
from the AstraZeneca website
