First half net profits were SF 16.9 milion, down from SF 17.7 million a year ago, while operating profit fell 3 per cent to SF 22.3 million.
Sales grew 6 per cent to SF 75.5 million, which Bachem attributed to positive developments in its US business and more orders coming for peptide generics.
Bachem's research chemicals unit also reported an improvement in demand, with sales rising 5.6 per cent in local currencies, the first increase in 18 months.
Active ingredients posted a sales growth of 8.1 per cent year-on-year, with peptide generics leading the charge. Growth opportunities for non-peptide generics, on the other hand, were limited by bottlenecks in production at Bachem's Sochinaz plant.
A new facility is being built that should improve matters, and this could be on-line as soon as early-2005, said Bachem.
For the full year, the company expects an increase in sales of between 2 and 5 per cent in local currencies.
Mondobiotech deal
Meanwhile, there was good news for Bachem just ahead of its results when it signed an agreement to produce and supply mondoBIOTECH of Italy's lead compound Aviptadil.
mondoBIOTECH is entering the product into a Phase II clinical trial to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension and plans to bring Aviptadil to the market in 2007.
The product - based on vasoactive intestinal peptide - belongs to the glucagon-growth-hormone-releasing factor secretin superfamily and influences many aspects of pulmonary biology.
It consists of 28 amino acids and is synthetically produced. At present, Aviptadil as an inhalation treatment is in Phase II clinical trials in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension.
mondoBIOTECH has been granted orphan drug designation for Aviptadil for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency.
Bachem will supply mondoBIOTECH with current Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-standard Aviptadil for clinical trials and will assume the entire process validation including necessary documentation for the registration process.