Roche chief executive Severin Schwan said health authorities are holding back from ordering more Covid-19 medicines and tests, despite a rise in cases, as sales of its Covid-19 drugs fell $1 billion year-on-year.
The Swiss pharmaceutical company sells the antibody treatment Ronapreve and the anti-inflammatory Actemra, originally developed for arthritis, for Covid-19.
Revenue from Covid-19 tests also fell, down 40 per cent year-on-year to $600,000, after robust sales in the third quarter the previous year.
Schwan said the drop in government orders was probably caused by fewer severe Covid-19 cases, which meant healthcare systems were better able to cope.
“In spite of increasing incidence rates for Covid-19, we actually don’t see an increase in the demand for Covid-19 related products,” he said. “It has nothing to do with inventories...there is simply much smaller demand than we have seen in the previous year.”
Sales were also hit by competition from biosimilars — generic versions of biologic drugs — especially for older cancer medicines, reducing revenue by $1.5 billion.
But Roche confirmed its full-year guidance, expecting stable sales, or growth in the low single-digit percentages, at constant exchange rates. It forecasts core earnings per share will increase in the low to mid-single-digit range and expects to increase its dividend.
In the third quarter, total sales rose 2 per cent year-on-year, at constant exchange rates, with growth driven by newer medicines to treat illnesses including the brain and nerve disease multiple sclerosis, the rare genetic condition spinal muscular atrophy and breast cancer. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2022
