Novartis increases its forecasts for 2019, with the help of the generic unit Sandoz

ZURICH (Reuters) – Novartis (NOVN.S) reached its revenue and net profit targets on Thursday thanks to innovative drug sales and the unit of the Swiss pharmaceutical group Sandoz, which specializes in generic drugs, found a growing demand for biosimilar copies star drugs manufactured by its competitors.

Core operating income in the second quarter rose 20% to $ 3.6 billion, while revenue grew 8% to $ 11.8 billion, compared to $ 11.54 billion forecast by 10 badysts in a Refinitiv poll.

The Basel-based company is now expecting the base operating profit for 2019 to rise from low to mid-digit to mid-teens, which is higher than the growth in the economy. previous high rate target, single digits. Sales expectations were also raised, with growth now in the medium to high range.

Novartis has highlighted the performance of Sandoz, where he said the price cuts of international trade in the United States.

Sales forecasts for Sandoz 2019 have been revised upward – to match last year or possible single digit growth – while copies of Mabthera de Roche, Humira d'Abbie and Amgen Pfizer Enbrel were doing business in Europe.

"We have raised our guidance for the full year for sales and operating income given our strong momentum," Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan said in a statement.