Novo Nordisk to raise US sales force nearly 60 pct
Thu Nov 30, 2006 3:55 AM ET
(Adds background on competitive landscape, shares)
COPENHAGEN, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Denmark's Novo Nordisk <NOVOb.CO>, the world's biggest maker of insulin, plans to expand its sales force for diabetes care from 1,200 to about 1,900 people in the United States in the first half of 2007, an increase of nearly 60 percent. The company said on Thursday the move was designed to strengthen its position in a key growth market.
The expansion will make it possible to reach more primary care physicians and increase the frequency of visits to both primary care physicians and endocrinologists, it said.
Novo said the expansion would not change its financial outlook for 2006 or the preliminary guidance for 2007.
Chief Financial Officer Jesper Brandgaard told Reuters in an interview last month that additional salesmen might be needed to defend the company's U.S. business, adding this was one of the reasons why its profit forecast for 2007 was conservative.
The company expects to grow sales by at least 10 percent next year and increase operating profit by between 10 and 15 percent.
The arrival of new drugs such as Eli Lilly and Co's <LLY.N> Byetta, Pfizer Inc's <PFE.N> Exubera and so-called DPP-IV drugs from Merck & Co Inc <MRK.N> and Novartis AG <NOVN.VX> are all expected to increase competition in the diabetes marketplace in 2007.
The sales force expansion will support promotion of Novo Nordisk's existing modern insulin analogues and also set the group up for the launch of additional products in future.
"We have to remain really, really cautious about ... not letting anyone take away the agenda in diabetes care. That's what we are obsessive about. We live and die by diabetes," Brandgaard said last month.
Novo Nordisk shares were 0.2 percent higher at 436.50 Danish crowns by 0845 GMT, while the European drugs sector <.SXDP> dipped 0.3 percent. (Additional reporting by Ben Hirschler in London)
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
