Novartis 1Q Profit, Sales Rise, Buoyed by Heart Drug -- Update
April 19 2018 - 2:49AM
Dow Jones News
By Donato Paolo Mancini
Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG (NOVN.EB) said on
Thursday that its first-quarter net profit rose, boosted by drugs
Entresto and Cosentyx.
Novartis said net income rose to $2.03 billion from $1.67
billion, with net sales increasing to $12.7 billion from $11.5
billion.
Sales for Entresto, a heart failure drug, more than doubled,
driven by increased adoption by physicians in the U.S. and
elsewhere, Novartis said. Other growth drivers were Promacta, used
against low platelet counts, and Cosentyx, a psoriasis drug.
Novartis said its oncology division returned to growth, despite
price erosion and generics competition against its former
blockbuster blood cancer drug Glivec.
Overnight, Novartis said separately that its Sandoz division
signed an agreement with Pear Therapeutics, a prescription digital
therapeutics company, to develop and commercialize therapeutics for
patients with substance and opioid abuse disorders in the U.S.
The company maintained its outlook for 2018, with group net
sales expected to grow at a low to mid-single digit rate. Novartis
expects group core operating income to grow by a mid to high-single
digit rate.
Novartis also said it appointed John Tsai as chief medical
officer and head of global drug development. Dr. Tsai will join
Novartis on May 1 and become a member of the executive
committee.
Write to Donato Paolo Mancini at
donatopaolo.mancini@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 19, 2018 02:34 ET (06:34 GMT)
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