Swiss drugmaker Roche on Wednesday stuck to its 2021 forecast for revenue growth, as first-quarter sales of Covid-19 tests offset a slumping main drug business that has been hurt as the pandemic limits doctor visits for other diseases.
First-quarter sales were 14.9 billion Swiss francs ($16.3 billion), which in Swiss francs was down 3 per cent from 15.1 billion francs in the year-earlier period, Roche said in a statement. The Basel-based company, which does not report quarterly profit, said the strong Swiss franc dragged down revenue.
Diagnostics sales, driven by demand for an array of Covid-19 tests for everything from infections to antibodies in people who have recovered, rose 55 per cent to 4.3 billion francs. That contrasts with falling fortunes in the drug business, where revenue slipped 9 per cent to 10.6 billion francs.
Chief Executive Severin Schwan was optimistic in mid-2020 that health care systems were successfully navigating the pandemic and that revenue from drugs would normalise. But with Covid-19 infections raging, Schwan has had to modify his hopes for a drug sales recovery, even if diagnostics pick up the slack.
"The pandemic continued to have a negative impact overall on the division’s sales, especially for medicines where regular visits to hospitals or health practices are needed," Roche said.
The company still expects current-year sales growth in the low- to mid-single-digit range at constant exchange rates, with similar core earnings per share growth.
Among the drugs hardest hit by the pandemic was top-selling Ocrevus, whose growth slowed to 16 per cent, down from 24 per cent last year, to 1.2 billion francs. "The Covid-19 pandemic continues to have a certain negative impact," Roche said.
The drugs business was lifted by Actemra, an arthritis drug repurposed for Covid-19 pneumonia whose revenue rose 22 per cent to 779 million francs, as well as an anti-Covid-19 antibody cocktail it has partnered on with Regeneron that reaped 166 million francs.
Published 21 April 2021, 10:59 IST