Today, Ipsen announced its FY2019 results, and I would like to take a moment to reflect on another strong year and how we are paving the way for our next phase of growth.
In 2019, we reported Group net sales which exceeded €2.5 billion for the first time, representing a 14.8% growth in sales.
I am excited to see the exceptional progress made by our Specialty Care business, with sales growing by more than 17%. Somatuline achieved double-digit growth, fueled by its strong performance and the uptake of our new and differentiated device in North America and Europe. The performance of our Oncology franchise was also driven by the launches of Cabometyx across geographies and indications as well as solid sales growth for Onivyde and Decapeptyl. Our Neuroscience business continued to demonstrate strong momentum thanks to the solid performance of our neurotoxin, Dysport, in the therapeutics and aesthetics markets.
We also continued the transformation of our Consumer Healthcare division as a sustainable and autonomous business, which was back to growth in the second half of 2019.
And finally, we made significant strides in building a leading Rare Diseases franchise for the next decade. Despite the recent setback with the palovarotene program, we remain committed to bringing potential solutions to FOP patients as quickly as possible.
Our growth story continues
Last year was another excellent year of operating performance for Ipsen, with continued improvements in our profitability. For the first time, our core operating margin surpassed 30% of net sales, while we continued to increase our R&D investments reaching the level of 15% of net sales. Our pipeline has never been as rich as it is today, with several significant Phase 3 or registration trials scheduled for 2020 – the most ever!
As we look to the future, we have a solid roadmap in place to sustain our growth, our pipeline and our culture. There will be no change in our strategy and no pause in our transformation. Our vision of being a leading global biopharmaceutical company focused on innovation and Specialty Care and our mission to improve patients’ lives through innovative new medicines remain the same.
Together, we are committed to a disciplined execution of our strategy, further advancing our R&D pipeline programs and delivering another year of solid sales growth in 2020 and beyond.
Aymeric Le Chatelier,
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Ipsen
