Perrigo Company (Nasdaq:PRGO; TASE:PRGO) has obtained final US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the company's generic over-the-counter laxative powder, Polyethylene Glycol 3350, and will begin shipments immediately.
Perrigo will market the laxative under store brand labels. The product is comparable to Schering-Plough Corporation's (NYSE: SGP) MiraLAX, which had an estimated $200 million in US sales in the 12 months through August 2009.
Perrigo chairman and CEO Joseph Papa said, "It is investments like this that help save OTC healthcare consumers more than an estimated $1 billion annually when compared to the higher priced national brands."
In its guidance, Perrigo expects to post earnings per share of $2-2.12 in fiscal year 2010, amounting to a net profit of $187.3-198.5 million. The analysts' consensus is earnings per share of $2.
Perrigo's closed at $34.88 on Nasdaq yesterday. The share rose 1.7% in early trading on the TASE today to NIS 131.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 7, 2009
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