Pharma giant Novartis raises forecast on strong drugs demand

One of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, Novartis AG, has posted strong quarterly results. It comes on the back of major growth in demand for its flagship medicines. This has led the company to raise its forecast for the full financial year. 

Total net sales at Novartis AG grew by 10% to $12.8bn (€11.9bn) at constant exchange rates in the three months to 30 September, and the core operating income was also up by 20% at $5.15bn (€4.78bn).

The highest-selling medicines of the company, included the cardiac drug Entresto and psoriasis drug Cosentyx which showed 26% and 28% growth in sales respectively, compared to the previous year, according to the report published on the website of the Swiss pharmaceutical giant. 

Sales of the flagship prostate cancer drug, Pluvicto, increased by 50%. It is based on new so-called radioligand therapy which is a form of targeted nuclear medicine used to treat multiple types of cancer and has a booming market in the US.

The drug is now on the market in several EU countries, however, its price (around $42,500 in the US, which translates to just under €40,000) leaves some uncertainty over whether health systems in Europe will be able to afford it. 

Meanwhile, Novartis has gained two new FDA approvals in the US for its breast cancer drug Kisqali and Fabhalta which is used in the reduction of proteinuria in adults.

Commenting on Q3 2024 results, Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis, said: “Novartis delivered another quarter of strong operational performance in Q3, with sales up 10% and core operating income up 20%. All key growth drivers contributed to the momentum.

“We achieved important indications expansions for Kisqali in early breast cancer and Fabhalta in IgA nephropathy, and we completed our PSMAfore filing for Pluvicto in the US. With the momentum in our business and pipeline, we were able to once again upgrade our full-year guidance and remain highly confident in our mid-term outlook.”

Novartis says that it now expects sales “to grow low double-digit”  and the core operating income to swell “high teens”, according to their earnings report. 

The company’s previously announced share buybacks are continuing, with up to $7.9bn (€7.3bn) still to be carried out. 

Novartis’ focus on innovative medicine

Novartis has been focusing on developing innovative medicines since it spun off its generics business, last year. The company is now concentrating on four core therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular-renal-metabolic, immunology, neuroscience and oncology. 

The pharma giant has just agreed to pay $150m (€139m) to US biotech company Monte Rosa Therapeutics to develop a new class of drugs called molecular glue degrader (MGD)-based medicine. 

This type of treatment has been developed for patients living with serious illnesses in the areas of oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. 

The technology harnesses one of the body’s own mechanisms to identify and degrade harmful proteins. 

Further down the line on the drug approval process, Monte Rosa will be eligible to receive further payment, up to $2.1bn (€1.94bn) at certain development, regulatory, and sales milestones.