UPDATE 2-Cephalon posts sharply higher 1st-qtr profit

(Adds Provigil sales)

NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - Cephalon Inc. (CEPH.O) reported a sharply higher first-quarter profit on Tuesday compared with a year earlier, when the drugmaker booked hefty charges for product development deals and other items.

Cephalon said last week that its profit for the quarter would be some 50 percent higher than its prior forecast due to stronger-than-expected sales of its pain drugs.

The company, based in Frazer, Pennsylvania, posted a net profit of $75.2 million, or 99 cents per share, compared with a profit of $3.6 million, or 5 cents per share, a year earlier.

Basic income per share was $1.14. Analysts on average had expected $1.02 per share, up from forecasts of 87 cents prior to last week's announcement, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company said it still expected full year sales of $1.68 billion to $1.73 billion and earnings of $4.40 to $4.50 per share, excluding special items.

For the second quarter, Cephalon forecast earnings excluding items of $1.05 to $1.15 per share and sales of $415 million to $425 million.

Product sales in the latest quarter rose 23 percent to $423.9 million.

Sales of Provigil, Cephalon's flagship drug for the sleep disorder narcolepsy, climbed 35 percent to $201.3 million while sales of pain drugs rose 12 percent to $131.4 million.

The company, which is working to transition patients from its older cancer pain medicine Actiq to its new Fentora, said Actiq had sales of $65.7 million, down from $108.9 million in the previous quarter. Fentora sales reached $31.7 million.

The 2007 sales forecast included central nervous system franchise sales of $925 million to $950 million and pain sales of $425 million to $450 million.