Swiss-based Novartis has announced ‘solid Q3 growth’ of 5% compared to the same period last year, with innovative medicines up by 7%.
The increase was driven by the strong performance of its heart failure combination Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan) which was up by 44%, psoriasis antibody Cosentyx (secukinumab) up by 22%, myelofibrosis drug Jakavi (ruxolitinib) up by 26%, spinal muscular atrophy gene therapy Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi) up by 28%, and cancer medicine Kisqali (ribociclib), which grew by 27% in sales revenue.
Net sales topped $13bn for Q3; top earners were Entresto with $924m – which saw ‘continued strong growth’ and increased patient share – and Cosentyx, with $1bn in sales driven by ‘sustained underlying demand’ in the US and Europe as well as strong volume growth in China. Overall, Novartis operations in China grew strongly, with sales reaching $839m, which were also up by 18%.
However, generics division Sandoz reported a 2% fall in sales driven by a 20% drop in the US. Novartis has announced that it has started a strategic review of Sandoz that will ‘explore all options’, including separating the two businesses.
“Rejuvenation of our portfolio continues, from our key brands which include Kesimpta, Leqvio, Zolgensma and the oncology portfolio,” said Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan. “We are also commencing a strategic review of Sandoz to maximise shareholder value. We remain confident in the strength of our pipeline and launch brands to fuel the growth of our company in the mid to longer term.”
Key innovation milestones in Q3 include Kisqali demonstrating statistically significant survival benefit for 1L HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer, Cosentyx meeting its primary endpoint in phase 2 giant cell arteritis study and remibrutinib meeting its primary endpoint in phase 2b for patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria.
Novartis has also announced regulatory news for Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel), with the US Food and Drug Administration granting the cancer therapy priority review for patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma. The European Medicines Agency has also accepted the company’s filing.
The regulatory submissions are based on data from the pivotal ELARA trial, which show that treatment with Kymriah resulted in ‘robust response rates and remarkable safety profile’ in adult patients.