July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Actelion Ltd., Switzerland’s biggest biotechnology company, raised its forecast for sales and profit growth and reported higher second-quarter earnings, boosted by revenue from its best-selling Tracleer lung treatment.

Sales and cash earnings before interest and taxes in local currencies will rise 16 percent to 19 percent this year, Allschwil-based Actelion said today. The company expects further growth in sales and profit in 2010 and forecasts for 2009 may be conservative, Chief Financial Officer Andrew Oakley said on a conference call with analysts. Second-quarter net income rose 55 percent to 116.2 million Swiss francs ($108.6 million).

“The results exceeded even the highest expectations,” said Olav Zilian, an analyst at Helvea SA in Geneva who recommends buying Actelion shares. “The performance of Tracleer was much stronger than the market had assumed, so competition isn’t much of an issue so far.”

Actelion gets about 90 percent of its revenue from Tracleer, which has been the dominant treatment for a condition known as pulmonary arterial hypertension since winning approval in 2001. The ailment causes high blood pressure in the artery that moves blood from the heart to the lungs and is potentially fatal. Actelion is seeking to expand Tracleer’s use to a rare lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Previously, the company forecast a 12 percent to 15 percent jump in revenue and a 10 percent to 12 percent rise in profit.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predicted net income of 96.6 million francs, the median of five estimates. Sales increased 27 percent to 449.6 million francs.

Tracleer Sales

Revenue from Tracleer rose to 387.1 million francs during the second quarter from 317.6 million francs a year earlier and was above analyst estimates of 358.2 million francs. The drug was sold in more than 50 countries at the end of June. Actelion has sought to expand Tracleer’s use and won approval in August to treat patients with an earlier stage of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

For the first half, net income rose 83 percent to 218.4 million francs, while sales rose 27 percent to 855.2 million francs.

“This is mainly due to the fact that Tracleer is very well perceived in the market, that the number of patients is increasing, the disease is better diagnosed but also we have got new indications,” Chief Executive Officer Jean-Paul Clozel said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

Shares

Actelion shares rose 60 centimes, or 1 percent, to 58.10 francs at the close of Zurich trading. Before today, the stock had declined 3.2 percent this year, giving the company a market value of 7.3 billion francs.

Tracleer faces competition from Gilead Sciences Inc.’s Letairis, which won approval in 2007. The Foster City, California-based company acquired the medicine, also known as Volibris, through its 2006 takeover of Myogen Inc.

Tracleer also competes with Pfizer Inc.’s Revatio, which uses the same active ingredient as the male impotence drug Viagra. Pfizer bought a similar treatment called Thelin when it agreed last year to buy Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Actelion has four medicines in the most advanced stages of clinical tests needed to win marketing permission. These include almorexant, an insomnia treatment licensed by GlaxoSmithKline Plc last year. While Actelion said it still expects results from a late-stage study of almorexant in the second half of 2009, the overall testing program has been extended by nine months.

Studies

The results of a study of Tracleer against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF, are set for the start of next year, later than originally planned. The outcome of another study of its Clazosentan treatment should be available in the middle of 2010, the company said.

The Swiss drugmaker has said positive data on expanding use of Tracleer for the lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis could drive future growth.

“If the result of Tracleer in IPF is positive it can nearly double the sales,” Clozel said in a telephone interview.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dermot Doherty in Geneva at ddoherty9@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 21, 2009 12:41 EDT