Last week, OSI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:OSIP) reported impressive first-quarter results spurred by the sales of Tarceva, the company's flagship anti-cancer drug. With Tarceva sales growing across the board and the potential for new uses on the horizon, coupled with a shrewd divestiture of an unprofitable product, the general outlook for OSI appears to be quite favorable.

Tarceva, which OSI co-promotes with Genentech (NYSE:DNA) and Roche, has indeed led the charge for the Melville, N.Y.-based drugmaker. The company reported net income from continuing operations of $19.7 million, or $0.33 per share, for its 2007 first quarter. That's a major increase when compared with the company's net income from continuing operations of $376,000, or $0.01 per share, for its 2006 opening quarter.

Meanwhile, back in November, OSI announced its plan to divest its eye-disease business, which consists primarily of a product that it has marketed with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) for the treatment of macular degeneration. In dropping the unprofitable segment, which racked up a $13.1 million loss during the quarter, the company can better maintain its focus on its oncology and diabetes segments. OSI expects to complete the divestiture this year, less than two years after it bought the eye-disease business.

At for Tarceva, it has received positive results in a phase 3 study showing that adding the drug to chemotherapy can significantly improve survival in patients with pancreatic cancer. And aside from the strong growth and promising future for Tarceva, OSI has also done well for itself by keeping its expenses in check with slight decreases in cost of goods sold and sales, general, and administrative expenses.

Checking in with our Motley Fool CAPS community reveals that the sentiment on OSI is fairly divided. The stock has a one-star rating, out of a possible five, with bulls outnumbering the bears by a slim count. Among the bears, CAPS player pquery doesn't pull any punches with his take on the stock: "Take your gains while they're there with this one." Only time will tell which sentiment is correct, but in the meantime, shareholders should be feeling upbeat with the company's Q1 results. 

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Fool contributor Billy Fisher does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned. The Fool has a disclosure policy.