AstraZeneca CEO-Nexium sales trend 'consistent'

BOSTON, May 6 (Reuters) - The chief of AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday sales trends for the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker's ulcer pill Nexium have been "consistent" since the company said rising competition from generics had hurt sales of that treatment.

"The trend is consistent," said David Brennan, chief executive of AstraZeneca, which also makes cholesterol fighter Crestor. "There has been some decline. There hasn't been an irrational change in the market."

AstraZeneca last month reported first-quarter sales that trailed analysts' expectations, in part due to a 15 percent drop in Nexium sales in the United States. Brennan repeated AstraZeneca's forecast that Nexium sales would be down by mid-single-digit percentages this year.

"If you exclude the generics and just look at the branded products like Prevacid, Nexium ... we're still gaining share," Brennan told reporters after addressing a meeting of Boston College's Chief Executive's Club.

"The issue is that the generic segment has gotten a bit larger. At the end of last year it was about two-thirds branded and one-third generic. It's now about 60-40."

Prevacid, a competitor of Nexium, is sold by Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (4502.T: Quote, Profile, Research). (Reporting by Scott Malone, editing by Richard Chang)