AstraZeneca
Revenue was up 9% year over year at constant currencies, but three points of that came from the growth of heart drug Toprol XL. Both Novartis
It's a nice bonus for AstraZeneca, but it won't last forever. Novartis is supposed to have its plant inspected by the Food and Drug Administration this quarter, but it isn't saying exactly when it'll resume shipping the product. KV Pharmaceutical's problems are pretty severe and the timeline for the FDA giving it the green light remains unclear.
AstraZeneca also benefited from Mylan
Other than those issues to watch out for in the coming quarters, AstraZeneca looks pretty strong. Crestor, its cholesterol drug, had an outstanding quarter, with sales up 33% at constant currencies. U.S. prescriptions for the drug are growing faster than the overall statin market, suggesting that doctors taking patients off Merck's
The company could have more good news about its growth prospects fairly soon. Today is the PDUFA date for its diabetes drug Onglyza, which it'll sell with Bristol-Myers Squibb
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