Roche continues good momentum into 2025 with 6% (CER) sales growth in the first quarter

Original from: Roche

· Group sales grew by 6% at constant exchange rates (CER; 7% in CHF), driven by high demand for newer medicines and diagnostic solutions.

· Pharmaceuticals Division sales rose by 8% (9% in CHF) on continued strong demand for a broad range of our medicines; top growth drivers were Phesgo (breast cancer), Vabysmo (severe eye diseases), Xolair (allergies) and Hemlibra (haemophilia A).

· Diagnostics Division sales remained stable with high demand across products and regions offsetting the impact of the recent healthcare pricing reforms in China.

· Highlights:

 - US approval for Evrysdi tablet for spinal muscular atrophy and Susvimo for the leading cause of diabetes-related blindness

 - EU approval for Columvi combination with chemotherapy for people with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

 - US acceptance of supplemental Biologics License Application for Gazyva/Gazyvaro for lupus nephritis

 - Trontinemab for Alzheimer’s disease and NXT007 for haemophilia A to move into phase III

 - Exclusive collaboration and licensing agreement with Zealand Pharma to co-develop and co-commercialise amylin analogue as a stand-alone therapy as well as a fixed-dose combination with Roche’s lead incretin asset CT-388 for weight loss

 - Unveiling of novel sequencing by expansion (SBX) technology, a new class of next-generation sequencing

 - Announcement of plans to invest USD 50 billion in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics in the US in R&D and manufacturing over the next five years

 - Announcement of plans to establish Roche Genentech Innovation Center Boston

· Outlook for 2025 confirmed

Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker: “We had a good start to the year with Group sales increasing by 6% at constant exchange rates and we achieved a number of important milestones.

Based on recent data, two potential new therapies – our investigational Brainshuttle bispecific antibody to treat Alzheimer’s and our investigational next-generation haemophilia A medicine – will move into phase III. Together with Zealand Pharma, we are developing amylin as a potential new stand-alone therapy for weight loss and as a fixed-dose combination with our incretin CT-388. In Diagnostics, we unveiled our breakthrough ‘sequencing by expansion’ technology, offering unparalleled speed, throughput and flexibility combined with high accuracy.

We are expanding our already strong US footprint – with currently over 25,000 employees, 15 R&D and 13 manufacturing sites – by investing USD 50 billion, an important step to continue to meet patient needs in the US with highly innovative medicines and diagnostics.

We are confident we will continue our positive momentum and confirm our full-year outlook.”

Outlook for 2025 confirmed
Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) expects an increase in Group sales in the mid single digit range (CER). Core earnings per share are targeted to develop in the high single digit range (CER). Roche expects to further increase its dividend in Swiss francs.

Group sales
In the first three months of 2025, Roche achieved sales growth of 6% (7% in CHF) to CHF 15.4 billion.

Strong demand for both pharmaceutical products and diagnostic solutions more than made up for the impact from the loss of exclusivity on Avastin (various types of cancer), Herceptin (breast and gastric cancer), MabThera/Rituxan (blood cancer, rheumatoid arthritis), Esbriet (lung disease), Lucentis (severe eye diseases) and Actemra/RoActemra (rheumatoid arthritis, COVID-19), totalling CHF 0.2 billion, and the impact of the recent healthcare pricing reforms in China.

Sales in the Pharmaceuticals Division increased by 8% (9% in CHF) to CHF 11.9 billion, with newer medicines for severe diseases continuing their strong growth.

The top five growth drivers – Phesgo, Vabysmo, Xolair, Hemlibra and Xofluza (influenza) – achieved total sales of CHF 3.6 billion. This represents a plus of CHF 0.7 billion at CER compared to the first quarter of 2024.

Phesgo achieved sales of CHF 0.6 billion due to growing demand across regions, notably China and the US, while Vabysmo continued to witness strong uptake, generating sales of CHF 1.0 billion on increased demand in all regions.

Sales of Avastin, Herceptin, MabThera/Rituxan, Esbriet, Lucentis and Actemra/RoActemra decreased by a combined CHF 0.2 billion (CER) due to the impact of loss of exclusivity.

In the United States, sales rose by 6%. Xolair, Phesgo, Vabysmo, Polivy (blood cancer) and Ocrevus (multiple sclerosis) were the main growth drivers. This growth more than compensated for the reduced sales of medicines with expired patents and the decline in sales of Tecentriq (cancer immunotherapy).

Sales in Europe grew by 5% as the strong uptake of Vabysmo, Polivy, Ocrevus, Phesgo and Hemlibra more than compensated for the decline in sales of medicines with expired patents and lower sales of Perjeta (breast cancer) due to the ongoing conversion of patients to Phesgo.

In Japan, sales increased by 3% due to growth in sales of Phesgo, Vabysmo, PiaSky (rare blood disorder), Tamiflu (influenza) and Alecensa (lung cancer). This growth more than compensated for the impact of price cuts as well as biosimilar erosion.

Sales in the International region grew by 18%, led by China. In China, sales rose by 14%, driven by demand for Xofluza and Phesgo.

The Diagnostics Division sales remained stable at CHF 3.5 billion as growth in demand, notably for immunodiagnostic products and pathology solutions, offset the impact of the recent healthcare pricing reforms in China.

Sales in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region increased by 4% due to higher sales of immunodiagnostic products, clinical chemistry tests and advanced staining solutions.

In North America, sales rose by 7%, driven by growth across all customer areas. Sales in Asia-Pacific decreased by 15% due to the impact of the healthcare pricing reforms in China.

Source: Roche continues good momentum into 2025 with 6% (CER) sales growth in the first quarter