- Group sales grew by 2%1 at constant exchange rates (CER) (-6% in CHF), driven by the strong growth of newer medicines and diagnostics. Excluding COVID-19-related products, sales increased by 7%. Going forward, there will be no further material impact of COVID-19 sales decline
- Due to the appreciation of the Swiss franc against most currencies, sales were 6% lower when reported in CHF
- Pharmaceuticals Division base business2 grew by 7%, driven by strong sales of medicines to treat severe diseases, such as Vabysmo (eye diseases), Phesgo (breast cancer), Ocrevus (multiple sclerosis), Polivy (blood cancer) and Hemlibra (haemophilia A). Divisional sales growth was 2%, reflecting the impact of the expected decline in sales of the COVID-19 medicine Ronapreve
- Diagnostics Division base business2 grew by 8%, supported by growth across all regions because of demand for immunodiagnostic products, clinical chemistry tests and advanced staining solutions. As this growth was partially offset by the lower demand for COVID-19 tests, divisional sales grew by 2%
- Highlights in the first quarter:
- US approvals of Xolair (food allergies) and Alecensa (early-stage lung cancer)
- Positive phase III data for Xolair (food allergies), Columvi (blood cancer) and Ocrevus subcutaneous injection (multiple sclerosis); positive phase II results for zilebesiran (hypertension in people with high cardiovascular risk)
- New positive long-term data for Vabysmo (retinal vein occlusion, a severe eye disease)
- US approval for the first molecular test to screen for malaria in blood donors
- US Breakthrough Device Designation for blood test to support earlier Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis
- Outlook for 2024 confirmed
Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker: “We had a strong start into the year, with both our divisions reporting high single digit growth in their base business – excluding COVID-19 sales. After this quarter, the COVID-19-related impact on sales is largely behind us. The appreciation of the Swiss franc versus most currencies impacted sales reported in Swiss francs compared to the same period last year. The uptake of our eye medicine Vabysmo continues its momentum. We are pleased about the US approval of Xolair as the first and only medicine for multiple food allergies. Further, we recently received the US approval for Alecensa in early-stage lung cancer. With an unprecedented 76% reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death versus chemotherapy, Alecensa significantly improves upon the standard of care for this specific form of lung cancer.
We are confident of growing our Group sales in the mid single digit range this year (at constant exchange rates) and therefore we confirm our outlook for 2024.”
Sales | CHF millions | As % of sales | % change | ||||
January‒March | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | At CER | In CHF | |
Group | 14,399 | 15,322 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2 | -6 | |
Pharmaceuticals Division | 10,921 | 11,608 | 75.8 | 75.8 | 2 | -6 | |
United States | 5,692 | 5,763 | 39.5 | 37.6 | 5 | -1 | |
Europe | 2,200 | 2,071 | 15.3 | 13.5 | 11 | 6 | |
Japan | 649 | 1,390 | 4.5 | 9.1 | -45 | -53 | |
International* | 2,380 | 2,384 | 16.5 | 15.6 | 12 | 0 | |
Diagnostics Division | 3,478 | 3,714 | 24.2 | 24.2 | 2 | -6 | |
All figures shown in the table were restated to reflect the shift of the Foundation Medicine (FMI) business from the Pharmaceuticals Division to the Diagnostics Division. *Asia-Pacific, CEETRIS (Central Eastern Europe, Türkiye, Russia and Indian subcontinent), Latin America, Middle East, Africa, Canada, others |
Outlook for 2024 confirmed
Roche expects an increase in Group sales in the mid single digit range (CER). Core earnings per share are targeted to develop broadly in line with sales growth (CER), excluding the impact from the resolution of tax disputes in 2023. Roche expects to further increase its dividend in Swiss francs.
Group sales
In the first three months of 2024, Group sales increased by 2% CER (-6% in CHF) to
CHF 14.4 billion as strong demand for newer medicines as well as diagnostics products including immunodiagnostics, clinical chemistry tests and advanced staining solutions more than offset the anticipated decline in COVID-19-related sales and the impact of biosimilar/generic erosion.
After this quarter, the impact of the drop in COVID-19-related sales is largely over and there will be no further material impact on Group sales.
Excluding COVID-19-related products, sales increased by 7%.
The appreciation of the Swiss franc against most currencies had a significant adverse impact on the sales reported in Swiss francs compared to constant exchange rates.
Pharmaceuticals Division base business grew by 7%, while divisional sales increased by 2% to CHF 10.9 billion as the strong global demand for newer medicines to treat severe diseases was partially offset by the expected decline in COVID-19 Ronapreve sales.
The eye medicine Vabysmo was the biggest growth driver, with Phesgo (breast cancer), Ocrevus (multiple sclerosis), Polivy (blood cancer) and Hemlibra (haemophilia A) being other significant contributors. Together, these medicines generated sales of CHF 4.2 billion, an increase of CHF 0.9 billion (at CER) from the first quarter of 2023.
The negative impact of biosimilar/generic erosion on our medicines Lucentis (eye diseases, US commercialisation rights only), MabThera/Rituxan (blood cancer), Herceptin (breast and stomach cancer), Avastin (various types of cancer), Esbriet (lung disease) and Actemra/RoActemra (arthritis, COVID-19) totalled CHF 0.4 billion (at CER), in line with expectations.
In the United States, sales increased by 5%, driven by strong demand for newer medicines such as Vabysmo, Polivy, Ocrevus, Phesgo and Evrysdi (spinal muscular atrophy) as well as for Xolair (allergies). This contrasted with lower sales of Lucentis, MabThera/Rituxan, Tecentriq (cancer immunotherapy), Esbriet, Avastin and Perjeta.
In Europe, sales grew by 11%, with Vabysmo, Phesgo, Hemlibra, Evrysdi and Ocrevus being the key drivers.
Sales in Japan were down by 45%, reflecting the base effect of the supply of Ronapreve to the government in the first quarter of 2023.
Sales in the International region increased by 12%, driven by strong growth in Hemlibra, Perjeta, Phesgo, Ocrevus, Tecentriq and Vabysmo. In China, sales grew by 11% due to high demand for Xofluza (influenza), Perjeta, Avastin, Polivy and Tecentriq.
The Diagnostics Division’s base business continued good growth (8%), boosted by demand for immunodiagnostic products, clinical chemistry tests and advanced staining solutions. This was partially offset by the expected sales decline of COVID-19-related products, leading to divisional sales growing at 2% to CHF 3.5 billion.
Immunodiagnostic products, which include cardiac, oncology and thyroid tests, were the main growth drivers (10%). Additional growth impetus came from clinical chemistry (8%), advanced staining techniques in oncology (12%) and companion diagnostics (47%).
As expected, the sales of COVID-19 tests further declined to CHF 0.1 billion in the first quarter of 2024 from CHF 0.3 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Sales growth was reported across regions, with Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) growing by 2%, Asia-Pacific by 1% and Latin America by 14%. North America recorded a decline of 1%, reflecting the drop in demand for COVID-19-related tests.
Pharmaceuticals: key milestones in the first quarter of 2024
Compound | Milestone |
Regulatory | |
Alecensa Lung cancer | FDA approves Alecensa as first adjuvant treatment for people with ALK-positive early-stage lung cancer
|
Piasky Rare blood disease | Chugai obtains regulatory approval for Piasky 340 mg for paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria in Japan
|
Xolair Food allergy | FDA approves Xolair as first and only medicine for children and adults with one or more food allergies
|
Phase III, pivotal and other key readouts | |
Ocrevus SC Multiple sclerosis | Subcutaneous Ocrevus one-year data demonstrates near-complete suppression of clinical relapses and brain lesions in patients with progressive and relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis
|
Columvi Blood cancer | Columvi meets primary endpoint of overall survival in people with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in phase III STARGLO study
|
Zilebesiran Cardiovascular diseases | Roche and Alnylam present positive results from the phase II KARDIA-2 study of zilebesiran added to standard-of-care antihypertensives in patients with inadequately controlled hypertension
|
Xolair Food allergies | New England Journal of Medicine publishes phase III data showing Xolair significantly reduced allergic reactions across multiple foods in people with food allergies
|
Vabysmo Severe eye diseases | New long-term data for Vabysmo show sustained retinal drying and vision improvements in retinal vein occlusion (RVO)
|
Pharmaceuticals sales
Sales | CHF millions | As % of sales | % change | ||||||||||||||
January–March | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | At CER | In CHF | |||||||||||
Pharmaceuticals Division | 10,921 | 11,608 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2 | -6 | |||||||||||
United States | 5,692 | 5,763 | 52.1 | 49.4 | 5 | -1 | |||||||||||
Europe | 2,200 | 2,071 | 20.1 | 17.8 | 11 | 6 | |||||||||||
Japan | 649 | 1,390 | 5.9 | 12.0 | -45 | -53 | |||||||||||
International* | 2,380 | 2,384 | 21.9 | 20.8 | 12 | 0 | |||||||||||
All figures shown in the table were restated to reflect the shift of the Foundation Medicine (FMI) business from the Pharmaceuticals Division to the Diagnostics Division. *Asia-Pacific, CEETRIS (Central Eastern Europe, Türkiye, Russia and Indian subcontinent), Latin America, Middle East, Africa, Canada, others | |||||||||||||||||
Top 20 best-selling pharmaceuticals | Total | United States | Europe | Japan | International | ||||||||||||
CHF m | % | CHF m | % | CHF m | % | CHF m | % | CHF m | % | ||||||||
Ocrevus Multiple sclerosis | 1,658 | 8 | 1,180 | 5 | 310 | 8 | - | - | 168 | 28 | |||||||
Hemlibra Haemophilia A | 1,040 | 8 | 592 | -1 | 231 | 17 | 79 | 2 | 138 | 51 | |||||||
Perjeta3 Breast cancer | 936 | -3 | 343 | -7 | 171 | -19 | 36 | -19 | 386 | 14 | |||||||
Tecentriq Cancer immunotherapy | 865 | 1 | 436 | -9 | 210 | 12 | 86 | -4 | 133 | 34 | |||||||
Vabysmo Eye diseases (nAMD, DME, RVO) | 847 | 108 | 650 | 91 | 138 | 224 | 23 | 33 | 36 | 397 | |||||||
Actemra/RoActemra3 RA, COVID-19 | 618 | -2 | 278 | -1 | 188 | 1 | 68 | 5 | 84 | -15 | |||||||
Xolair3 Asthma, allergies | 496 | 10 | 496 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||
Kadcyla3 Breast cancer | 483 | 3 | 186 | -1 | 145 | -2 | 21 | -4 | 131 | 19 | |||||||
Phesgo Breast cancer | 388 | 70 | 126 | 36 | 169 | 55 | 19 | - | 74 | 165 | |||||||
Herceptin3 Breast and gastric cancer | 364 | -17 | 67 | -22 | 77 | -17 | 4 | -41 | 216 | -14 | |||||||
Evrysdi Spinal muscular atrophy | 356 | 7 | 135 | 16 | 137 | 27 | 20 | 13 | 64 | -29 | |||||||
Alecensa Lung cancer | 355 | 4 | 104 | 4 | 72 | 3 | 43 | 3 | 136 | 5 | |||||||
MabThera/Rituxan3 Blood cancer, RA | 351 | -18 | 204 | -21 | 39 | -20 | 4 | -20 | 104 | -11 | |||||||
Avastin 3 Various cancer types | 324 | -15 | 99 | -22 | 21 | -27 | 51 | -33 | 153 | 3 | |||||||
Activase/TNKase3 Cardiac diseases | 296 | 4 | 282 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 14 | 7 | |||||||
Polivy Blood cancer | 250 | 81 | 117 | 166 | 54 | 42 | 44 | 2 | 35 | 181 | |||||||
Gazyva/Gazyvaro3 Blood cancer | 213 | 16 | 100 | 7 | 62 | 17 | 6 | -19 | 45 | 47 | |||||||
Pulmozyme3 Cystic fibrosis | 112 | -6 | 66 | -15 | 20 | 0 | - | 27 | 26 | 22 | |||||||
Mircera3 Anaemia | 96 | 0 | - | - | 10 | -8 | 9 | -25 | 77 | 6 | |||||||
CellCept3 Immunosuppressant | 94 | 0 | 5 | -34 | 32 | 0 | 9 | -10 | 48 | 8 | |||||||
** Over 500% DME: diabetic macular oedema / nAMD: neovascular or ‘wet’ age-related macular degeneration / RVO: retinal vein occlusion / RA: rheumatoid arthritis |
Diagnostics: key milestones in the first quarter of 2024
Product | Milestone |
Regulatory | |
Elecsys pTau217 test Alzheimer’s disease | FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for blood test to support earlier Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis
|
cobas Malaria test Malaria | FDA approval for the first molecular test to screen for malaria in blood donors
|
Diagnostics sales
Sales | CHF millions | As % of sales | % change | |||
January–March | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | At CER | In CHF |
Diagnostics Division | 3,478 | 3,714 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2 | -6 |
Customer areas4 | ||||||
Core Lab | 1,925 | 1,928 | 55.4 | 51.9 | 9 | 0 |
Molecular Lab5 | 620 | 683 | 17.8 | 18.4 | -3 | -9 |
Near Patient Care6 | 570 | 774 | 16.4 | 20.8 | -20 | -26 |
Pathology Lab | 363 | 329 | 10.4 | 8.9 | 19 | 10 |
Regions | ||||||
Europe, Middle East, Africa | 1,188 | 1,253 | 34.2 | 33.8 | 2 | -5 |
North America5 | 1,055 | 1,120 | 30.3 | 30.3 | -1 | -6 |
Asia-Pacific | 992 | 1,098 | 28.5 | 29.4 | 1 | -10 |
Latin America | 243 | 243 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 14 | 0 |
More information on Roche sales in the first quarter of 2024:
About Roche
Founded in 1896 in Basel, Switzerland, as one of the first industrial manufacturers of branded medicines, Roche has grown into the world’s largest biotechnology company and the global leader in in-vitro diagnostics. The company pursues scientific excellence to discover and develop medicines and diagnostics for improving and saving the lives of people around the world. We are a pioneer in personalised healthcare and want to further transform how healthcare is delivered to have an even greater impact. To provide the best care for each person we partner with many stakeholders and combine our strengths in Diagnostics and Pharma with data insights from the clinical practice.
In recognising our endeavour to pursue a long-term perspective in all we do, Roche has been named one of the most sustainable companies in the pharmaceuticals industry by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the fifteenth consecutive year. This distinction also reflects our efforts to improve access to healthcare together with local partners in every country we work.
Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.
For more information, please visit www.roche.com.
All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are protected by law.
References
[1] Unless otherwise stated, all growth rates and comparisons to the previous year in this document are at constant exchange rates (CER: average rates 2023) and all total figures quoted are reported in CHF.
[2] Pharmaceuticals Division base business: excluding COVID-19 medicine Ronapreve.
Diagnostics Division base business: excluding COVID-19-related products.
[3] Products launched before 2015.
[4] Core Lab: diagnostics solutions in the areas of immunoassays, clinical chemistry and CustomBiotech.
Molecular Lab: diagnostics solutions for pathogen detection and monitoring, donor screening, sexual health and genomics, genomic tumour profiling.
Near Patient Care: diagnostics solutions in emergency rooms, medical practices or directly with patients and integrated personalised diabetes management.
Pathology Lab: diagnostics solutions for tissue biopsies and companion diagnostics.
[5] Sales in the Molecular Lab customer area include sales from the Foundation Medicine business which moved under the responsibility of the Diagnostics Division from the Pharmaceuticals Division effective 1 January 2024. The comparative information for 2023 has been restated accordingly.
[6] Sales in the new Near Patient Care customer area include sales from Diabetes Care and the Point of Care business, both previously shown as separate customer areas. The comparative information for 2023 has been restated accordingly.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements
This document contains certain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as ‘believes’, ‘expects’, ‘anticipates’, ‘projects’, ‘intends’, ‘should’, ‘seeks’, ‘estimates’, ‘future’ or similar expressions or by discussion of, among other things, strategy, goals, plans or intentions. Various factors may cause actual results to differ materially in the future from those reflected in forward-looking statements contained in this document, such as: (1) pricing and product initiatives of competitors; (2) legislative and regulatory developments and economic conditions; (3) delay or inability in obtaining regulatory approvals or bringing products to market; (4) fluctuations in currency exchange rates and general financial market conditions; (5) uncertainties in the discovery, development or marketing of new products or new uses of existing products, including without limitation negative results of clinical trials or research projects, unexpected side effects of pipeline or marketed products; (6) increased government pricing pressures; (7) interruptions in production; (8) loss of or inability to obtain adequate protection for intellectual property rights; (9) litigation; (10) loss of key executives or other employees; and (11) adverse publicity and news coverage. The statement regarding earnings per share growth is not a profit forecast and should not be interpreted to mean that Roche’s earnings or earnings per share for this or any subsequent period will necessarily match or exceed the historical published earnings or earnings per share of Roche.
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