Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) today said "spectacular" sales of new products in the US helped second-quarter profits jump 9 per cent.
Sales there shot forward with GSK's asthma drug Advair taking £71 million sterling in its first 12 weeks on the US market.
The group's diabetes treatment Avandia also saw strong growth, with sales up 72 per cent in the three months to June 30th on the same period last year.
GSK's US pharmaceutical sales rose 20 per cent to £2.3 billion sterling in the second quarter, pushing group turnover to £5.1 billion - a jump of 10 per cent.
Pre-tax profit rose to £1.7 billion before exceptional costs, compared with £1.5 billion in the same period last year.
Chief executive Mr Jean-Pierre Garnier said the results in the US were "spectacular". "In just 12 weeks Advair has taken a 12 per cent share of the new prescriptions market. There has not been a better take-up for an asthma drug in around 20 years."
Mr Garnier said a deal announced earlier today with Japanese pharmaceutical group Shionogi would help guarantee a flow of new products on to the marketplace.
The two firms have created a joint venture in the US and Europe that will initially develop five drugs - four from Shionogi including one targeting HIV.