Novartis to get swine flu windfall?

Immunisation will Novartis' profits soar

Nothing will bolster profits margins like flu season. Couple that with a life-threatening pandemic and you could see your earnings soar. That is the case for Novartis, who despite seeing solid numbers for their third quarter, are expected to see an extra USD$400-700 million in their fourth quarter alone from their H1N1 pandemic flu vaccine sales.

During the third quarter, Novartis has only seen their net income edge up 1 percent to USD$2.11 billion, however their profits were hit by costs relating to the acquisition of a majority stake in Alcon. Sales were up by 3 percent to USD$11.09 billion, whilst pharmaceutical turnover was up 8 percent to USD$7.22 billion.

Before the H1N1 vaccine possibly usurps Novartis' current big earners, it is only fair to see their sales fro the quarter. Popular blood pressure lowerer Diovan (valsartan) was the company's biggest seller with sales going up by 1 percent to $1.46 billion, while sales of Glivec/Gleevec (imatinib), for chronic myeloid leukaemia and gastrointestinal tumours, were up 3 percent to USD$974 million.

Meanwhile, Femara (letrozole), for women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer, climbed 14 percent to USD$329 million and Zometa (zoledronic acid) for cancer complications brought in USD$376 million, up 4 percent. Turnover of the acromegaly therapy Sandostatin (ocreotide) rose 2 percent to USD$300 million.

Swine flu windfall

With the addition of the swine flu vaccine, Novaris operating and net income are expected to reach record levels in constant currencies. Speaking to PharmaTimes.com, chief executive Daniel Vasella said he was pleased with "our strong underlying performance, led by the momentum of our pharmaceuticals business, outpacing the competition".

The H1N1 vaccine is not the only new product that has yielded successful results; the recently introduced cardiovascular drug Exforge (amlodipine plus valsartan) brought in $171 million, up 49 percent, while Exjade (deferasirox), the first once-daily oral therapy for treating patients with iron overload, was up 18 percent to $174 million. Lucentis (ranibizumab) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration shot up 52 percent to $335 million, while Reclast/Aclasta (zoledronic acid) for osteoporosis climbed 89 percent to $125 million.

It looks like it could be a very merry flu season for Novartis.

Like this article? Get the RSS feed: