Swine flu vaccine orders boost Glaxo

28th Apr 2010 12:13

A surge in orders of vaccines to stave off the swine flu pandemic that had been feared last year helped drug giant GlaxoSmithKline post a jump in profits.In the first quarter of 2010, sales rose by 9% from the same period a year ago to £7.357bn, helping lift earnings per share by 17% to 30.7p. Glaxo lifted its dividend by a penny to 15p.Excluding pandemic influenza products, sales were up by 4% to £6.6bn. Glaxo saw strong sales of its pandemic vaccine and the flu drug Relenza as the government prepared for an outbreak of swine flu. The threat has now receded, with revenues from vaccines likely to follow.Glaxo's revenues were also boosted by new products, such as breast cancer treatment Tykerb. New products accounted for £400m of sales. In the consumer health business, which includes famous products such as Aquafresh toothpaste and Gaviscon heartburn treatment, sales were up by 9% to £1.2bn.'GSK has made a good start to 2010 and this provides further confirmation that our strategy is working,' said chief executive Andrew Witty.