Boehringer Ingelheim has a successful 2015 financial year with net sales increased by 4.1%

• Net sales rise to 14.8 billion euros (currency-adjusted: +4.1 per cent; +11.1 per cent in euro terms)
• Operating income improves markedly to 2.3 billion euros
• Key strategic course set for future sustainable business development

World pharma today/Industry reports/- The research-driven pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim looks back on a successful year 2015. “We made many significant medical advances,” said Professor Andreas Barner, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors, at the Annual Press Conference today. “At the same time, we took the key strategic course in 2015 to build on our competitiveness and to pave the way for sustainable business development in the future too.”

In 2015, Boehringer Ingelheim generated net sales of 14.8 billion euros, representing an increase of 4.1 per cent in currency-adjusted terms (+11.1 per cent in euro terms). Excluding the generics business, which was sold at the beginning of 2016, currency-adjusted net sales rose by 5.3 per cent. Since operating income also improved by 6 per cent to 2.3 billion euros, the return on net sales came to 15.3 per cent. In 2015, Boehringer Ingelheim employed around 47,500 people worldwide.

Numerous submissions, approvals and product launches
The approval of PRAXBIND® in the USA and Europe means that Boehringer Ingelheim now has an agent that reverses the anticoagulant effect of PRADAXA®. It is available to doctors in rare emergency situations.

In the field of respiratory diseases, Boehringer Ingelheim’s biggest indication area, the company also recorded major product approvals in various countries: SPIRIVA® RESPIMAT® for asthma, SPIOLTO® for chronic-obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and OFEV®, which is used to treat the rare disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

Key strategic course set
In order to maintain its freedom to innovate in future, Boehringer Ingelheim took important strategic decisions last year: for example, Boehringer Ingelheim exited the generics business with the sale of its US subsidiary Roxane. At the end of 2015 Boehringer Ingelheim and Sanofi announced that they would be entering into exclusive negotiations with regard to the strategic swap of Boehringer Ingelheim’s consumer health care business for Sanofi’s animal health business. Boehringer Ingelheim’s aim is to intensify its focus and thereby reinforce its prevailing competitiveness. The decision to invest 0.5 billion euros in the expansion of the biopharmaceutical production facility in Vienna (Austria) was another important strategic step.

Strong focus on partnerships in research and development
“Innovative medicines in human pharmaceuticals will also in future be the prerequisite for our growth and success,” Professor Barner said. For this reason, the company is planning to invest around 11 billion euros in the international research and development of human pharmaceuticals over the next five years. Of this, 5 billion euros will go into pre-clinical research and development and 1.5 billion euros into cooperation with external partners. In the meantime, some 50 per cent of innovations in early and middle research phases at Boehringer Ingelheim have emerged from cooperations with external partners, such as universities and biotech companies.

Regarding later development phases, Boehringer Ingelheim reached agreement with AbbVie on a global partnership on two promising compounds from Boehringer Ingelheim research for treating autoimmune diseases, such as psoriasis. Here there is still a great need for more efficacious medicines. “The partnership is the optimal way to exploit fully the potential of both active ingredients, thereby serving the interests of patients worldwide,” Professor Barner added.

Net sales growth in all businesses
Boehringer Ingelheim experienced growth across all of its business areas last year. For example, net sales of prescription medicines, excluding generics, Boehringer Ingelheim’s most important business, increased by 4.1 per cent in currency-adjusted terms to 10.7 billion euros (+11.9 per cent in euro terms). With net sales of over 3.5 billion euros, the respiratory medication SPIRIVA® remains the best-selling medicine. The company’s diabetes business has established itself as a long-term growth driver, with net sales for the entire diabetes portfolio increasing significantly by around 49 per cent in currency-adjusted terms to 1.1 billion euros (+63.8 per cent in euro terms). The anticoagulant PRADAXA® contributed around 1.3 billion euros to net sales.

Boehringer Ingelheim generated around 10 per cent of its total net sales from consumer health care medicines in 2015. Driven by the global brands DULCOLAX®, BUSCOPAN®, MUCOSOLVAN® and PHARMATON®, net sales increased by 7.1 per cent in currency-adjusted terms to over 1.5 billion euros (+5.3 per cent in euro terms).

Boehringer Ingelheim also made further gains in its animal health business in 2015, with net sales increasing by 10.5 per cent in currency-adjusted terms to almost 1.4 billion euros. This business contributed 9 per cent to total net sales. With net sales of 281 million euros, the swine vaccine INGELVAC CIRCOFLEX® remained the best-selling medicine (in currency-adjusted terms: +4.1 per cent; in euro terms: +8.1 per cent). The livestock business grew by 12 per cent in currency-adjusted terms, making it the prime growth driver (+20 per cent in euro terms). In the pet segment, the canine vaccine DURAMUNE® showed strong growth with an increase in net sales of 7.5 per cent in currency-adjusted terms to 88 million euros (+27.5 per cent in euro terms).

With net sales of 576 million euros, the biopharmaceuticals business accounted for 4 per cent of total net sales and achieved growth of 15 per cent last year.

Outlook for 2016
In the current financial year, Boehringer Ingelheim expects to achieve a minor increase in net sales compared to last year, given the low growth impetus on the global pharmaceutical markets. “The fruits of our labour in the coming months will, however, allow us to considerably strengthen our market position in many areas in the medium term,” said Hubertus von Baumbach, Member of the Board of Managing Directors responsible for Finance.

Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, Boehringer Ingelheim operates globally through 145 affiliates and a total of some 47,500 employees. The focus of the family-owned company, founded in 1885, is on researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing new medications of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

Social responsibility is an important element of the corporate culture at Boehringer Ingelheim. This includes worldwide involvement in social projects through, for example, the initiative “Making More Health” while also caring for employees. Respect, equal opportunity and reconciling career and family form the foundation of mutual cooperation. The company also focuses on environmental protection and sustainability in everything it does.

In 2015, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about 14.8 billion euros. R&D expenditure corresponds to 20.3 per cent of net sales.
For more information please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.com