Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline today posted better than expected results, despite sales of its diabetes treatment Avandia falling more than 20% after health scares.
The company was rocked by claims in a US medical journal in May that Avandia increased the risk of heart attack, although Glaxo has strongly denied the accusations.
The group said sales at its pharmaceutical division remained level at £4.8 billion as sales of other drugs - such as respiratory treatments Seretide and Advair - offset the impact of a 22% fall in Avandia sales to £349m in the second quarter, as well as increasing US competition.
The group also maintained its 2007 earnings guidance, indicating growth of 8% to 10% at constant exchange rates
Glaxo's share price leapt nearly 4% this afternoon as overall pre-tax profits came in flat at £1.89 billion, slightly above the £1.85 billion expected by analysts.
The share price also gained as Glaxo raised its share buyback programme to £12 billion over the next two years,
Group sales were down 2% to £5.67 billion as the firm suffered from the increasing weakness of the US dollar in the three months to June.
Chief executive Jean-Pierre Garnier said the company had 'performed well in a challenging quarter'.
He said: 'Whilst some uncertainty remains around Avandia, we stand firm in our belief that it is an effective and valuable treatment for patients with diabetes.'
The US drugs regulator, the FDA, will decide on the future of Avandia in a meeting on July 30.
Demand for the medicine slumped in the wake of an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, a US journal which concluded the drug significantly increased the risk of heart attack and cardiovascular problems.
