Pharmaceutical manufacturer Perrigo Company (Nasdaq:PRGO; TASE:PRGO) last week reported 13% growth in sales and 50% growth in profits for the year ending in June 2010. The company expects 20-23% further growth in 2011.

In part the good results were due to acquisitions but another major factor were the problems encountered by Johnson & Johnson after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removed many of its analgesic products. This boosted Perrigo's revenue by $16-17 billion over the year.

Perrigo Israel CEO Rafi Lebel said, "We and others succeeded in taking the market share of Johnson & Johnson. We believe that they will come back and start marketing again though it is not clear when that will be, but we will succeed in keeping a substantial part of growth in the market share."

Perrigo's work plan assumes that Johnson & Johnson will return to the analgesics market in January 2011. Lebel said, "They are trying to pass production onto subcontractors and approached us. But we will only agree to it if it is a long-term deal. A short-term deal does not interest us."

Perrigo, which specializes in OTC pharmaceuticals, has been active in Israel since acquiring Agis Industries.

Perrigo's share rose 0.95% in morning trading on Nasdaq today to $59.50, giving a market cap of $5.44 billion.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 16, 2010

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