BASEL: Roche Holding AG said revenue rose in the first quarter, thanks to strong sales of several of its drugs.
Basel based Roche said revenue climbed 4% to 12.94 billion Swiss francs ($13.03 billion), from CHF12.41 billion a year earlier. The company doesn’t report quarterly earnings.
Among the medicines that drove growth was Roche’s trio of drugs aimed at women whose breast cancer is linked to a gene known as HER2. Sales of Herceptin, Perjeta and Kadcyla grew a combined 6% in the quarter. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society, with around 20% of those cases linked to the HER2 gene.
Sales at Roche’s pharmaceutical division, which accounts for around three-quarters of total sales, rose 3% to CHF10.18 billion.
Roche’s smaller diagnostics division also notched strong growth, thanks mainly to sales of products to large laboratories and for use in clinics. Sales of diagnostic products climbed 6% in the quarter to CHF2.77 billion.
The company confirmed its outlook for the year, saying it expects sales to grow by a low-to-mid-single-digit percentage at constant exchange rates. It said core earnings per share would grow broadly in line with sales.
