The Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche also benefited in the first quarter from the strong demand for corona tests from the company. Especially in the United States, many rapid Covid antigen tests were sold.
The company also did well with its medicines Ocrevus for multiple sclerosis and Hemlibra for haemophilia.
Roche saw quarterly sales rise by 10 percent to more than 16 billion Swiss francs, about 16 billion euros, compared to almost 15 billion Swiss francs a year earlier. As a result, the company performed slightly better than analysts had expected.
The diagnostic division, which makes the corona tests, among other things, was responsible for most of the positive surprise and reported turnover growth of 24 percent to 5.3 billion francs. In addition to strong sales of corona tests, the demand for heart tests also increased significantly.
Sales of the drug Ocrevus increased by 18 percent, and sales of Hemlibra increased by 30 percent. The company was thus able to offset the decline in sales of its well-known cancer drugs Herceptin, Avastin, and Rituxan due to cheaper competing products.
Roche reiterated its expectation that 2022 sales will remain stable or grow slightly at constant exchange rates. However, the group warned that the demand for corona products would decrease in the course of the year. As a result, sales of Covid drugs and rapid tests will fall by about 2 billion francs this year to about 5 billion francs.
