Novartis lifts profit forecast for second time on Cosentyx, Entresto
Corrects to $800 million, not billion, in paragraph 6
By Ludwig Burger
FRANKFURT, July 18 (Reuters) -Swiss drugmaker Novartis NOVN.S raised its 2024 earnings guidance for the second time on Thursday, driven by a gain in prescriptions for drugs including heart failure treatment Entresto and arthritis drug Cosentyx.
It said in a statement that full-year adjusted operating income is expected to grow by a "mid- to high teens" percentage, where it had previously seen a "low double-digit to mid-teens" percentage.
Second-quarter adjusted operating income gained 17% to $4.95 billion, beating an average analyst estimate of just over $4.6 billion.
Sales of Entresto, Kesimpta for multiple sclerosis and anti-inflammation drugCosentyx, which has won approval for new uses, came in ahead of the market consensus.
The group, which has cut jobs and spun off generic-drugs business Sandoz, confirmed medium-term growth ambitions even as it is bracing for the loss of U.S. patent protection next year for its bestseller Entresto and for Promacta to treat a lack of blood platelets.
It has said it is banking on drugs like Kesimpta, which generated about $800 million in revenue last quarter, to reach $4 billion in annual sales.
Novartis has also billed cholesterol-lowering drug Leqvio, whose sales more than doubled to $182 million in the second quarter, as a multi-billion dollar revenue opportunity.
It reaffirmed a 5% annual currency-adjusted group sales growth target until 2028 on Thursday.
Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Miranda Murray and Sharon Singleton
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