Idec Profit Up 55% on Rituxan Sales

Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp. said fourth-quarter profit climbed 55% because of higher sales of its cancer drug Rituxan.

Net income rose to $44.6 million, or 26 cents a share, from $28.7 million, or 16 cents, a year earlier. The San Diego biopharmaceutical company also said revenue gained 51% to $123.7 million from $81.7 million.

U.S. sales of Rituxan, which Idec developed and sells with South San Francisco-based Genentech Inc., rose 41% to $318.2 million from $226 million. Some analysts estimate that Idec gets about 35% of the profit from sales of the non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma treatment.

Idec reported earnings after U.S. markets closed. Shares rose 7 cents to $31.57 on Nasdaq.