Genentech Profit Up 22% on Sales of Cancer Drugs

Genentech Inc., one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies, said third-quarter profit rose 22% on better-than-expected sales of its cancer drugs.

Profit from operations rose to $105.4 million, or 20 cents a share, from $86.2 million, or 16 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. The results beat by a penny the 19-cent average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call.

Revenue rose to $556.2 million from $447.3 million.

Sales of Rituxan, a treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that the company sells in the U.S. with Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp., rose 80% to $212.8 million from $117.9 million, because more doctors prescribed the drug as a first-line therapy. The companies also won U.S. regulatory approval this quarter that allows doctors to give more infusions of the drug.

Rituxan sales beat analysts’ estimates of $200 million to $250 million.

Herceptin, a breast cancer drug, had sales of $83.9 million, up from $72.6 million.

Genentech said sales of its four growth-hormone products increased 11% to $67.7 million from $61.1 million a year earlier.

Combined sales of Genentech’s two clot-busting drugs, Activase and Tnkase, and the activase-coated catheter product Cathflo fell 4% to $48.6 million from $50.7 million.

Genentech had pretax charges of $79.4 million related to the redemption of shares. Including the charges, the company had net income of $42.7 million, or 8 cents a share.

The company announced results after the close of U.S. markets. Shares of South San Francisco-based Genentech rose as high as $44 in aftermarket trading after closing down $1.20 at $40.80 on the New York Stock Exchange.