Astra Zeneca Plc is to recruit 1,300 new representatives in the United States as it prepares to replace its best-selling product Losec (omeprazole).
On August 1, Astra Zeneca reported sales of $9.54bn (£6.36bn) for the first six months of 2000, down 1 per cent on 1999, following the sale of its speciality chemicals business. Pre-tax profits were up 69 per cent, at $2.26bn (£1.5bn), on the 1999 figures which were depressed by merger costs of $917m.
Sales of Losec were $2.97bn for the half-year, an increase of 4 per cent, representing 31 per cent of total sales. Nexium (esomeprazole), the replacement for Losec, is to be launched in Sweden on August 14 and in five other European counties, including the United Kingdom, by the end of the year. In the US, the field force is to be increased ahead of Nexium's launch.
Sales of Losec in the UK were "adversely affected by pricing pressure from competitor products", Dr Tom McKillop (chief executive, Astra Zeneca) said. Pharmaceutical sales in the UK fell by 14 per cent to $338m.