Novartis forecasts profit gains despite copycat competition

Published on January 31, 2025

See on Internet Archive

by
Swissinfo
My articles My site About me My videos My books
Follow on:Twitter Facebook Google +

Novartis forecasts profit gains despite copycat competition — Novartis says new therapies will drive growth Keystone / Georgios Kefalas

Generated with artificial intelligence.

Swiss pharmaceutical heavyweight Novartis said profit will rise this year as new medicines help offset competition from copycats of its best-selling drug.

This content was published on January 31, 2025 - 10:05

+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

Core operating profit will likely grow by a high single- to a low double-digit percentage, outpacing sales, the Swiss drugmaker said Friday.

Novartis is facing patent expiries for three key drugs, with top-selling heart medicine Entresto expected to face generic competitors in the US mid-year. The drugmaker says its newer therapies will continue to drive growth.

The patent expiries are a test of CEO Vas Narasimhan’s years-long overhaul of the company, with its focus narrowed to specific types of diseases. Last year Narasimhan issued what many investors saw as a cautious forecast at the beginning of the year, then repeatedly raised it in successive quarters.

Sales will probably increase at a mid- to high-single digit pace this year, Novartis said. The drugmaker reported a 7% increase in fourth-quarter net income to $2.8 billion.

Besides Entresto, two of Novartis’s top 20 drugs, Tasigna for leukemia and Promacta for blood clotting, will face generics in the US. But they have successors: the company anticipates more than 15 regulatory submissions or approvals for key drugs this year.

Novartis shares have risen about 1% in the past 12 months, less than those of cross-town rival Roche. Roche on Thursday said profit excluding some items would probably grow in the high single-digit range at constant currencies this year.

Full story here Are you the author?

About Swissinfo

SWI swissinfo.ch – the international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Since 1999, swissinfo.ch has fulfilled the federal government’s mandate to distribute information about Switzerland internationally, supplementing the online offerings of the radio and television stations of the SBC. Today, the international service is directed above all at an international audience interested in Switzerland, as well as at Swiss citizens living abroad.

My articles My site About me My books
Follow on:Twitter Facebook Google +