Annual Report 2003 Aventis - Sanofi

over-the-counter (OTC) branded and generic
loratadine (Claritin) allergy products since Claritin
became an OTC product in November 2002, and a
weak spring allergy season. Allegra / Telfast sales in
Japan were driven by growth in allergic rhinitis and
skin disease, resulting from focused sales force and
professional education efforts aimed at enhancing
brand credibility with physicians.
Global sales of Lovenox / Clexane grew 21.3 % on
an activity basis due to strong sales performance in
the U.S. and Europe. Lovenox / Clexane remains the
market leader in terms of sales value in each of the
major European markets, achieving double-digit
growth in 2003 and continuing to expand sales in
the open care segment.
Taxotere sales grew 22.5 % on an activity basis.
This was due to strong performance in all markets,
spearheaded by the U.S., where sales benefi ted from
increased usage in metastatic breast cancer and fi rstline
non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Taxotere
sales in Germany were supported by the launch in
fi rst-line NSCLC and by increased sales force focus
through our establishment of separate oncology
sales lines and optimized customer targeting and
segmentation. More than 250 abstracts on Taxotere
presented at the 39th American Society of Clinical
Oncology (ASCO) in June 2003 increased awareness
of Taxotere within the medical community.
Delix / Tritace sales grew 20.6% on an activity basis
to e 1 066 million, achieving blockbuster status
for the fi rst time. Delix / Tritace outperformed all
competing ACE inhibitors in terms of sales volume,
growing by 24 % in total prescriptions worldwide (excluding
the U.S. and Japan) during the 12 month
period from Q4 2002 through Q3 2003. Market share
for Delix / Tritace increased in all key segments with
particularly strong growth in diabetes and cardiovascular
risk. Sales growth was primarily driven by
strong performance in the UK, Canada and France.
A key factor in the global sales growth of Delix /
Tritace in 2003 was increased use of Delix / Tritace
10 mg, based on the clinical fi ndings of the MITRA
PLUS and HOPE studies that demonstrated its
superiority over other ACE inhibitors.
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