Novartis AG raised its earnings forecast for the third time this year, as new drugs — including gene therapy Zolgensma — got off to a strong start.
The Swiss drugmaker also lifted its revenue outlook, as its biggest product along with a new breast cancer treatment outran sales estimates for the quarter.
Zolgensma, the breakthrough treatment for a rare muscle disorder that carries a price tag of US$2.1 million, recorded sales of US$160 million in the quarter, exceeding analysts’ estimates, despite concerns over coverage barriers.
Novartis said plans are in place covering about 90 percent of commercial patients and about 30 percent of those on the US Medicaid program.
“There has been strong and high interest in the product across the country,” CEO Vas Narasimhan said on a call with reporters. “The vast majority of plans are putting in policies that are in line with the label.”
Zolgensma offers an alternative to Biogen Inc’s Spinraza for patients with spinal muscular atrophy.
About half of Zolgensma patients have switched from existing treatment and the company expects a significant increase in the screening of newborns to drive future uptake, Narasimhan said.
Novartis has received additional questions on manufacturing from regulators in Europe and Japan on Zolgensma, he said.
Novartis now expects a ruling from a key European committee in the first quarter of next year and a decision in Japan in the first half of next year, it said.
Sales of Piqray, a new breast cancer drug that Novartis is counting on to be a driver of growth, also beat estimates, along with the company’s top seller, the Cosentyx psoriasis treatment.
Profit excluding some items is now expected to increase by a mid to high-teens percentage this year, Basel, Switzerland-Novartis said in a statement.
The revision follows a guidance increase last week at fellow Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG.
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